Netherworld Nightmare
by Digi-Dolphin
Summary: Danny Phantom has always dealt with ghosts his own way. Then came the haunting voice in the library and ghosts he can't catch, then a new teacher who knows more than he's telling. Can Amity Park deal with the craziness of magical ghosts and Nebilim?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I was asked by a reviewer of Burning Black for the prequel to the series and I replied by saying that the prequels to Burning Black's entire series actually begins in the Danny Phantom fandom. So this is the beginning of the true start of Dimmsdale's descent to misery. Unlike BB, which has five acts, three of them complete and the fourth in progress, Netherworld Nightmare is a single fic that tells how Danny got involved in magic and mana first. From that, the chaos spreads... Please enjoy my first foray of Danny Phantom fanfiction, timeset after Urban Jungle and before Livin' Large.

* * *

Netherworld Nightmare

Ch 1

It began when the Amity Park Public Library suddenly became off limits to all things supernatural. This was considered highly unusual, as the dozens of leftover boxes from packing books in and out would have provided more than enough amusement for the Box Ghost. Yet, even **he** was far too terrified of the library to try going after the right-angled treasure. A few of the more alert and ghost-wary of the citizens of Amity Park recognized this and, whenever a ghost was on the loose in the city (as was so often the case), they made a beeline for the library. As a shelter against ghosts, the building was perfect, and not a trace of Fenton technology was installed in the place.

So for weeks the library became the underground fortress, a whispered secret among close friends and family as the place to go to avoid ghosts. Not a single spook would dare come within a few feet of the building, not even Danny Phantom, the town's resident ghost hero. At least, that was the reputation and name the boy was given after helping Amity Park survive its first massive ghost invasion and nearly 'died' in the effort; a good portion of the adults that sided with the two 'official' Fenton ghost hunters still referred to him merely as the Ghost Boy and viewed him as a constant threat. For the majority of the teen populace, the ghost was a heroic figure, someone to be awed, respected, even worshipped. But even they started to wonder as many ghost on ghost conflicts ended with a sudden halt at the library, with the enemy ghost shrieking in terror and the hero, Danny Phantom, wind-milling his arms in the air wildly to avoid coming too close to the invisible shield protecting the library.

What about this library was so frightening to ghosts that not even Phantom would dare come close to it?

* * *

And so it was on a fine sunny day in Amity Park that Lancer's English class made a trip to the local library, the famed ghost-repelling building. It was suggested, oddly enough, by Samantha 'Sam' Manson, the class Goth, as a place to go to look up the history of the city for a report the kids were assigned to do.

And Daniel 'Danny' Fenton promptly dug in his heels not twenty feet from the library doors, announced he had developed an allergy to paper, then sat on the sidewalk in a huff. Promising to convince him into the building before the trip ended, Sam and Danny's second but equally strange friend, Tucker Foley, persuaded the teacher to go on ahead with the rest of the class.

"C'mon, Danny! How do you expect us to find out what's with this library if you don't come in with us and help pinpoint it?" Sam demanded, planting her fists on her hips as she scowled down at the boy on the sidewalk.

"I don't know, but I'm not going near that place." the raven-haired teen answered simply, "It gives me the creeps. I walked by it once and it felt like there was something there ready to swallow me up." He shuddered visibly and shook his head. "No way. I can't go in there; not without getting spacey or something." Tucker held up his PDA, patting it affectionately as a gleam of an idea sparkled in his expression.

"I could always just hack into the library security system and we can check out what the cameras see." he remarked brightly, "Then we can get a bird's eye view of everything and we can skip going in entirely!" Danny grinned up at the two teens, obviously enthusiastic with the plan. If it meant missing out on entering the building, he'd smile at anything. Sam shot him a glare, then snatched the device from the other boy's hand. She waved it threateningly as Tucker's hands shot out in attempts to rescue his precious digital assistant.

"No, we're not gonna do that!" she declared, "This whole field trip was set up so we could go in and find out what's going on." She shoved the PDA against Tucker's chest and turned back to Danny, who had not moved a single inch from his sitting position and showed no sign or desire to try. "C'mon, Danny! It only affects you when you're in ghost mode, right?" Sam whispered harshly, "It shouldn't bother you like this, then! Now let's get going!" With that, she grabbed one arm as Tucker quickly caught on and snatched up the other. Ignoring the thrashing as they dragged Danny towards the library, Sam and Tucker marched for the doors, only to feel the boy slip through their grips.

"Oh yeah! You forgot he could do that, huh, Sam?" Tucker laughed as he stopped and turned around in time to see the shimmer of color as Danny solidified just down the steps from them. The Goth spun around in irritation, black hair slightly flared from the motion, the short ponytail rising from the top of her head bobbing along.

"Danny-!" she growled through her teeth warningly, violet eyes narrowing in annoyance. She stomped a foot forward, shaking a fist at the raven-haired boy that stared up at her. "Get over here before I make you a _full_ ghost!" she threatened. For a moment, Danny debated silently over going along or turning tail, then sighed and hung his head, tromping up the steps after his two friends.

* * *

The inside of the library seemed normal enough. Just like any normal library in any normal city, there were shelves of books and magazines lining the walls, forming aisles and dominating the décor. Danny slunk along the tall bookcases, muttering to himself. Sam had been right; in his human form, there was nothing bothering him. Since the accident in his parents' laboratory that merged his DNA with ectoplasm, Danny had to keep his eyes open for anything that could harm him as a ghost as well as a human. Knowing that something about the library was making him react badly as a ghost didn't sit well with him. Pausing near one shelf, he leaned back against it and pressed the palm of one hand against his forehead, sighing softly to himself. In ghost mode, the library seemed to give him a strange feeling of despair, a sinking feeling that he should just transform from ghost to human in mid-air and let the darkness of night and full death take him.

Danny didn't like it one bit, and even in his mind _that_ was an understatement. He snuck a glance aside and smiled as he watched his friends walk up and down the aisles, studying the spines of books for show as they searched around for some sign of unnatural activity. Since that day in the lab, Sam and Tucker had stuck by him through every situation life threw at him. From dealing with turning intangible at the oddest moments to helping him recuperate after battles with Vlad Plasmius, the stress of being Amity Park's ghostly hero would have broken him long ago had it not been for the two of them. He took the time to glance over the other students as he continued resting. The capture of Box Ghost again the prior night shouldn't have taken as long as it had, but the two of them were circling around the dead zone that was the library. The Box Ghost had been trying to work up the nerve to enter the building to gather the boxes, and Danny Phantom was trying to quell the idea of splattering himself all over the shingled rooftop. All in all, a lousy night.

There's Paulina, the Queen of Casper High, working her charm on some unsuspecting student to get out of doing the paper. At least, it looked that way from this angle; for all Danny knew she could just be trying to meet her daily quota for flirting. At a table near the exit sat Dash and Kwan, playing paper football, of all things, with Star as cheerleader and looking as if she wanted something else to busy herself with. Valerie Gray, the city's other 'unofficial' ghost hunter (Phantom being the first), alternated between scrawling down notes for her report and poking at a wristwatch of sorts on her arm.

The two hours crawled by as Danny dozed lightly, using the bookshelf as support while the class kept themselves busy and his best friends scoured the building for the supernatural source of his discomfort. The sounds of Sam's favorite black combat boots and Tucker's comfortably worn-in sneakers making their way to him snapped him out of the doze in an instant. Eyes the color of clear summer skies snapped open and sought out their faces.

"Nothing. Not even a freaky glowing crystal." Sam grumbled, folding her arms over her chest in a huff. Her irritated expression softened as she took in the somewhat disheveled figure of the fourteen-year-old boy. "Feeling better? Did you get some rest?" she asked. Danny managed a grin that transformed into a yawn as he stretched and twisted around to work out a few kinks left in his frame.

"Yeah, I'm good for now." he replied quietly and glanced around, "So the place is clean? Nothing here that reeks of something that should be thrown into the Ghost Zone first chance possible?" Tucker shook his head.

"Nope. And with the way every ghost that comes by reacts, throwing whatever this is into the Ghost Zone is the last thing you wanna do." he pointed out. He waved a hand emphatically at a random direction, nearly knocking Sam over in the process. "Not unless you plan on hosting a Ghostly Convention in Amity Park!"

"Long as they don't crash at my place." Danny yawned out and blinked at that before rubbing his head sheepishly, "Well, since the library only messes with me when I'm a ghost, I suppose I should carry more of Mom and Dad's inventions if I end up chasing them here." He shrugged, a somewhat carefree grin on his face. "Glad to know that being human during a battle against ghosts _does_ have some advantages!" he laughed. The conversation ended quickly as the English teacher, Mr. Lancer, announced that they were to go back to school and hustled everyone out of the building. The three teens made momentary faces at the thought, but Danny brightened quickly.

"If it gets me out of here, I don't care where we end up!" he laughed and rushed after the other students, eager to escape the confines of the very strange Amity Park Public Library.

* * *

After school, they gathered at the local fast food restaurant, the Nasty Burger, to discuss the situation further. Had Danny's sister, Jasmine, known about it, she would probably have insisted on joining them, knowing full well about the particular activities and 'ailment' the meetings often talked about. The group had come to terms with Jazz knowing about her younger brother's ghost half and his battles, the secret having been revealed some several months ago during one very confusing and very traumatizing encounter with a future Danny Phantom who wasn't quite what present Danny would have liked to become. Despite that, the three of them preferred to just work things out on their own. The less people involved in their work, the better Danny felt. He didn't want anyone hurt because of his fighting ghosts, didn't want that awful future to come to pass.

Granted the whole bloody ordeal involving that future had been dealt with rather quickly, but it still made the boy worry about the choices he made in life. Not normal behavior for a young teen, but then Danny hadn't been normal since being blasted by ectoplasmic energy. Therefore, rules were suspended in his case.

"There weren't any signs of crystals or stones or anything that could affect ghosts like that." Sam explained her earlier comment between bites of salad. She twirled the fork in a small circle as her eyes went distant in recollection. "I saw a small charm that was hanging by the front desk, but it was for warding off evil spirits. It shouldn't do anything to you." she added. Danny huffed in disdain.

"Unless it's proof that I'm still stuck on that path." he grumbled and ducked as the Goth swung her hand at him, "Hey!"

"Oh geez, that was ages ago! Don't start it up again! You promised you wouldn't turn evil, right? So as long as you keep that promise, nothing bad will happen to any of us!" she scolded under her breath. Tucker nodded along with her words, then grinned.

"See? I knew you cared about him _in that way_!" he insinuated with a chuckle and yelped as both raven-haired teens shot him glares. "Eep! Uh, right! Library! Yeah!" he stammered out and held up his PDA again, tapping at the buttons, "I checked around for signs of mechanical and technological sources, but the closest you can get to a ghost-spooking machine in that place is the copy machine." Danny lifted an eyebrow at this and Sam rolled her eyes.

"Because it's thought by some cultures that having a picture of yourself taken would entrap your spirit in the photo." she answered his silent question, "So maybe ghosts think that it would suck them in like the Fenton Thermos."

"I have no problem with copy machines." the boy remarked with a mischievous smile before taking another bite of his burger. Sam stared at him in disbelief, then laughed as Tucker caught on soon after and joined in. "So, nothing you two could find as a ghost repellent in there, huh?" Danny summed up, "Should I bite the bullet and ask my parents to give it a once over themselves? Maybe they can find something." He looked back and forth at his friends' faces, taking in the looks of shock and horror before sighing in defeat and resting his head on the table, buried in his arms. "Okay, okay, bad idea." he admitted.

"You think?" Sam nearly yelled, managing a loud whisper instead.

"They gunked up the vents with ectoplasmic goo from the Fenton Foamer when your dad saw the air conditioner flip some newspapers around and swore a ghost was traveling through the ventilation system!" Tucker reminded him, "It took weeks to clean it up, and that was before they began cleaning the books and furniture too!" Danny lifted his head to stare at the African-American boy.

"That was two years ago." he told them evenly. Both teens shrugged at him.

"They haven't lifted the ban on your parents ever coming near the library, unless they were called first." Sam pointed out, "So that kills your idea right there." The halfa across from her groaned and dropped his head back down.

"I'm doomed to being afraid of that library forever." his muffled declaration came through the barrier of arms and t-shirt. Sam dug through her backpack and brought out several pages of notes, plunking them down on the table for everyone to see. The boy lifted his head at the sound of rustling papers and studied the sheets warily. "What's this?" he asked.

"My notes on that report we have to write. 'What Amity Park Means to Me', remember?" she replied, "It's due by the end of this week. I figured you'd either forget or not have the time for the notes, so you can borrow the ones I took at the library for your own report." Tucker made several sounds that were suspiciously reminiscent of kisses, earning a punch in the arm from the Goth.

"What?" he whined as he rubbed the injury, "It was supposed to be a hint to Clueless over there! Y'know, one good deed deserves another and all?" He gained another punch, this time on the other arm from Danny himself. Tucker blinked in shock as he switched to rubbing that injury instead. "Hey! He actually got what I was saying! It's a miracle!" he exclaimed and winced, "And that hurt! Seriously, Danny; all that ghost hunting's working something out!"

"The exercise doesn't carry over that easily, but I did learn how to throw a good punch." Danny muttered, gathering the papers into his hands. He shot the Goth a grateful smile to which she turned back to her pack both to find something else to busy them with and to hide the rising blush on her face. What she pulled free was a flyer that had been passed out among the students of Casper High.

"Well, not a whole lot since you still have trouble with gym class, but enough so you don't fall all over yourself doing the long jump or medium-weight wrestling." Tucker amended, still rubbing his arm. Sam plunked down the flyer, the blush deepening. She didn't need to hear any more of _that_ discussion.

"Did you guys get a load of this?" she asked, tapping the paper, "Our school has finally developed a brain! They're gonna include a mythology class for the rest of the semester! It's being sponsored by a private fund and Amity Park is the only city in the country with this class!" Sam smiled broadly. "How cool is that? It's an optional class, so we can swap out one of our classes for it and it gives us bonus credit!" Both Tucker and Danny leaned in to study the flyer.

"_'Mythology of the Ancient World. A chance to learn about the history and cultures of ancient civilizations. Sign up for this opportunity at the bulletin board in the cafeteria. Starts...'_" Danny read aloud slowly, mentally turning the words right-side up as his eyes traveled the page. He frowned. "The class starts in two days." he remarked, noting the date, "That's not much time for anyone to sign on to it."

"Why would Casper High bother with mythology? It's just stuff about ancient gods and goddesses that no one believes in anymore." Tucker pointed out, "I believe in the power of technology!" He stroked the PDA almost lovingly, "There's nothing this little baby can't do! Let's see some Greek god take over the security system for Axion Labs in less than five minutes!" Danny gave him a disturbed look, edging away from his friend as Sam ignored him.

"I signed up for it as soon as I got the flyer." she declared, "Who knows? Maybe if we learned more about ancient mythology, it can help us understand and fight ghosts better." Danny brightened at the thought.

"You're right! I hadn't thought of that, but it sounds like a good idea." he exclaimed, giving Sam another reason to feel her ears burn. He reached out and pat her shoulder. "So learn all you want, Sam; I'll expect a report at the end of each class!" he finished jokingly and yelped as Sam's next swipe actually contacted his head.

"Danny, you're gonna be in this class too!" she yelled, "Don't expect me to do all the work!" Danny rubbed his head, chagrined.

"Work? I already do a lot of work!" he protested, "I fight the ghosts, suck 'em into the Thermos, then throw 'em back in the Ghost Zone! That's a lot for a kid to do in one night, especially if there's more than one ghost running around town!" Sam glared at him, then gave him her best puppy-eyed expression, clasping her hands together as her lower lip quivered. Danny squirmed in his seat, trying to avoid seeing it and failing. "You cheat; you know I can't say 'no' to that face." he muttered under his breath. A corner of his mouth twitched into a quick smile; she looked ridiculously cute doing that. He fought down the urge to blush and look like an idiot, then sighed melodramatically and threw his hands up in mock surrender. "Okay, okay, fine! I'll sign up tomorrow. Maybe I can get out of keyboarding class for this." the halfa finally relented.

"Aw, but that's the best class in school!" Tucker sighed, "Who am I gonna spam with instant messages now?"

* * *

The night was oddly peaceful. For once, Danny's ghost sense didn't interrupt him in the middle of doing homework. It didn't stop him from periodically puffing out into the air, half-expecting the faint wisp of his own breath that signaled a ghost was near to flow out, or checking the thermostat in the house to be sure that any chills he felt was just the air conditioner kicking in and not the ghost sense. Jazz sat by him at the kitchen table, working on her own assignments. She glanced up at him and frowned.

"Don't ask for trouble, Danny." she lectured and tapped her pencil against his books, "Finish your homework and be glad that the ghosts of Amity Park aren't gonna bug you for once." Her brother snorted softly but bent his head to his work again, pen scrawling along the pages as he continued writing the report.

"They're probably still scared of that library." he grumbled, turning to a new sheet of paper to continue a sentence, "If a ghost popped into the city, they know I'm going to end up chasing them to the library." Jazz gave him a puzzled expression. Danny shook his head. "Nothing. Just talking to myself. What are Mom and Dad up to?" he shifted the subject. The carrot-top gave him a blank stare, then blinked and shook her head to clear the brief fog.

"Downstairs as usual. They're building something that's supposed to inject sedatives into ghosts. Some kind of tranquilizer gun." she replied, "So I'd stay out of there for the next couple of days if I were you."

"Well, it's something non-lethal to ghosts at least." Danny sighed glumly, "I just hope they don't fire it at me anytime soon. I haven't gotten the hang of forcing myself to stay in ghost form if I lose consciousness just yet." Jazz pat his hand comfortingly, then got up to the refrigerator.

"How about a soda? Maybe a snack too?" she asked brightly, hoping to cheer him up as she collected the items.

"Sure." the response was devoid of emotion as the boy continued writing. Jazz set the can and sandwich down by him, catching sight of the flyer Sam had given him. She picked it up.

"What's this?" she asked in interest, "Mythology class? I heard about that yesterday." She blinked at her brother in surprise. "You're going to sign up for it? _You?_ The kid they have to tie to the chair to keep him in class for more than fifteen minutes?" Danny shot her an annoyed look, snatching the paper back.

"Yeesss..." he drawled out and stuffed the flyer into his backpack, "Sam thinks it might help me figure out more about ghosts. Are you signing up for it too?" Jazz tapped her cheek thoughtfully.

"Well, I wasn't before, but if it could help with ghosts, then maybe I should." she remarked, ignoring her brother's groan, "It starts in a couple of days, right? That should give me time to figure out which class I can swap out for a while." There was a muffled explosion underfoot, the sound of yelling and footsteps, and both Jazz and Danny calmly ignored the chaos that Jack Fenton had most probably created in the basement. "Who's the teacher?" Danny pulled the flyer free again and looked it over carefully.

"It doesn't say." he finally told her and showed her the sheet, "Just that the class will start in two days and it's going to be the most unusual class Casper High will ever have. It's some kind of test class, I guess." Jazz studied the flyer herself. "If enough kids sign up, maybe it'll become a permanent class."

"_'All lectures taken from the Archives of the Twin Blades, world-renowned for the largest and most complete collection of world history and mythology ever compiled by man.'_" she read aloud and smiled, "Wow! How cool is that? I've heard of the Archives; there's a rumor that it's run and maintained by a reclusive billionaire who sends out a single scholar to collect data to add to the records." Danny scowled, folding his arms over his chest.

"Is there a name to go with that money-man?" he grumbled. Jazz handed him the flyer with a shrug.

"Not Vlad Masters, that much I know. It's said that this guy makes Vlad look like he should be in poverty." she replied and laughed, "He could probably buy the world and the moon, and still have enough to treat everyone alive to a fancy dinner every day for the rest of their lives!" Danny blinked at the paper in his hands.

Strange. Why would a reclusive billionaire sponsor a temporary mythology class in a small town like Amity Park, when he could make it a permanent part of the learning regime for the world? Could the teacher be the scholar in his payroll? What kind of data could the recluse be after? Did it have anything to do with the ghost attacks the city was plagued with? Was the billionaire interested in learning more about the ghosts in Amity Park?

So much for not looking for trouble. It seemed to like looking for him first.


	2. Chapter 2

2

School started normally enough. Danny was reintroduced to the inside of a locker by Dash, who didn't like the idea of the Fenton boy actually turning in an assignment before he did. Then he was ignored by Paulina again and, honestly, he still wasn't sure why he kept up the appearance of being infatuated with her when his heart just wasn't in it. He managed to make it through half the day without much problem and was now standing in line for the sign up sheet at the bulletin board.

Valerie Gray walked up to stand behind him, startling him when she greeted the boy. He turned back to her in shock.

"Valerie? You're signing up for this class, too?" Danny asked in amazement. The dark-skinned girl shrugged.

"If it gets me out of Home Economics, I'll take anything." she replied, "Besides, it'll drive Tucker bonkers." She smiled briefly as she mentioned his name. Danny shifted uncomfortably on his feet. Not only was Valerie a ghost-hunter herself (her favorite target was Danny Phantom, but any ghost would do for her mission of revenge), but she had begun developing a crush on the only male best friend he had. Tucker would have jumped for joy if he knew. It was a little saddening on his part; Danny had once harbored feelings for the girl himself, but too much friction between them because of ghost hunting quickly forced the relationship to die. Why Valerie decided to move on to Tucker was beyond him.

"Yeah... Yeah, it would." he agreed quietly and shuffled along as the line grew shorter, "So, do you know anything about who could be teaching this class?" Valerie looked thoughtful.

"There's a rumor that the teacher's supposed to be really cute, so Paulina and Star signed up just for that. Then there was another rumor that the teacher was really fit, so that lured in Dash and Kwan..." she began as Tucker raced up to join them, panting. Both teens stared at him.

"Tucker? What are you doing here?" Danny questioned in confusion and cocked his head, "Did you actually run all the way from our lunch table to get here?"

"Is... it too... late to sign... up?" Tucker gasped out between gulps of air. Valerie pat his back as Danny reached the sheet and scribbled his name onto the list.

"No, but it's getting pretty full." he replied, "Why? Changed your mind about the class? What miracle did that to you?" Tucker straightened and put on a huge smile.

"I heard the teacher knows _tons_ about computers and networks! Maybe I can ask him for pointers about maximizing my use of my PDA." he declared brightly. Danny gave him a flat glare, folding his arms over his chest as he stepped aside to let Valerie sign her name.

"That's a lot of rumors going around about one guy. We haven't even been told his name and suddenly there's story after story flooding the school about the teacher." he pointed out evenly, "Am I the only one who smells something wrong about this?" Valerie shot him a wary look as she pulled away from the paper, allowing Tucker to dart in and scrawl his name in the last space on the sheet.

"You think this is a trap of some kind, Fenton?" she questioned, a familiar glint in her eyes, "Some kind of _ghost_ trap?" Danny blinked and waved his hands distractedly.

"No, no! Just that I think it's, uh, wrong for people to, um, spread rumors about someone they haven't even seen yet!" he stammered out quickly, "Can't judge a book by its cover, y'know? Especially if you haven't even heard the title yet!" Valerie studied him for a little longer, then shrugged and walked away, seeming to accept the excuse for fact.

"That was brilliant, Danny." Tucker told him dryly, "Why not hang a billboard around your neck that says 'Ghost Boy' while you're at it?" Danny scowled at him.

"You could have jumped in and helped, y'know!" he shot back. Tucker shook his head, waving his hands in front of himself as if to shoo the idea away.

"And ruin my only chance at dating somebody without being known as 'Judge's Best Friend'? No way!" he replied and sought out the table again, "Now let's finish lunch. I left behind a triple stacked ham and bacon sandwich and I don't want Sam switching it with a Tofu Surprise on me!" Rolling his eyes, the halfa hurried after him.

* * *

It was announced later that day that sign-ups for the class were concluded since the sheet had been completely filled during lunch. There were several groans of dismay as many students saw the opportunity for easy credit slip away. Danny watched with a grin as Sam shook her fists in victory, assured of her place in the class. He didn't have the heart to tell her the popular kids had also gotten in.

Another Danny-Locker meeting for a lousy pop quiz grade in seventh period and the day was pretty much done for the half-ghost. It was almost eerie to think that the Amity Park Public Library could be the reason no ghosts had decided to bother the town, and thus Danny, for the whole day. As he, Sam and Tucker walked by the building to the Nasty Burger, Danny briefly entertained the idea of being able to retire as Danny Phantom if the library's reputation in the Ghost Zone was that potent a deterrent. Of course, he'd still use the abilities and form for other things, namely flying and easy access to his friends' homes for visits, but he wouldn't have to worry about playing hero ever again.

He began to say as much to his friends when the pale cloud of his breath emerging from his mouth instead of words and the familiar chilling shudder that ran up his spine instantly killed the thought.

"So much for retirement." Danny sighed aloud as he ran for cover. Sam and Tucker darted after him, standing guard as he called out his standard battle cry. A ring of white bloomed into existence, circling his waist as it split in two and traveled in opposite directions across the length of his body. Red and white t-shirt, blue jeans and sneakers were swept away by the passing of the ethereal rings, to be replaced with a form-fitting black and white haz-mat suit that provided little in the way of armor and left quite a bit to a girl's imagination. Blue eyes turned to glowing green, raven-black hair to snowy white, and skin darkened a shade while taking on a fairly vivid white aura, and the transformation was complete.

Where once Danny Fenton, average looking teen, stood in the alley, there remained only Danny Phantom, resident ghost hero of Amity Park, and the second halfa to inhabit the living world.

"I don't see the ghost anywhere, Danny." Sam reported as he flew out of the alley to rejoin the two teens, "Is it invisible?"

"Bet you twenty dollars it's Skulker." Tucker remarked as he started up the PDA in preparation. Danny scanned the area, shook his head, then shot up into the sky, opting for an aerial view of the neighborhood to pinpoint the spook. After a moment, he spotted it.

"Looks like a new one!" he yelled down at his friends as he zipped back to them, "It's over by the Nasty Burger, but it's coming this way in a hurry." Sam grinned at Tucker.

"You owe me twenty dollars." she teased as Tucker shook his head in a panic.

"N-no! I wasn't betting you! I was betting Danny!" he protested.

"Then you owe _me_ twenty dollars." the half-ghost played along and flew ahead of them, "C'mon! If we meet it head on, I won't have to chase it to the library!" Racing after him as fast as they could, Sam and Tucker followed the halfa, digging for ghost hunting equipment in their backpacks as they did.

The ghost Danny encountered just moments after leaving the teens in his wake was very strange. It was white, for starters, like a bedsheet. It didn't glow at all, but looked as though it was fading, almost as if it couldn't sustain its form in the world. It didn't have eyes, just black pits where eyes should have been, and a similar pit for the mouth. It had arms, that was for certain, but no legs. In fact, it looked like a classic, bedsheet-thrown-over-a-kid ghost, except it was floating along as fast as it could, it had no kid inside, and it was lugging along a wooden hammer that was in equally dire straits.

"O-kay..." Danny stretched the word in a puzzled tone, "What's _your_ problem?" The other ghost didn't respond, just continued hurrying along, passing Danny by as though he wasn't even there. Turning sharply, he pulled up alongside the ghost, matching speeds with it as he tried again. It wasn't attacking anything yet, so perhaps this ghost was actually a peaceful one. If that was the case, how was Danny going to get it into the Ghost Zone? Ask it nicely?

"Danny!" Sam's voice called out, catching his attention. The Goth hurled a belt and Thermos at him. He grabbed it and flashed her a grateful smile before strapping the mechanical-looking band across his torso, the Fenton Thermos attached to it now secured on his back.

"What kind of ghost is that?" Tucker yelled after him as the two jogged alongside Danny and the fading specter, "It looks kinda lame."

"I dunno. It won't talk to me." Danny replied with a shrug and turned back to the ghost, "C'mon, man, I haven't got all afternoon to deal with you! Where'd you come from? What's your name? And why the heck do you have a hammer?" He fired the questions off, growing more annoyed with each second the ghost didn't answer.

It didn't take much longer before they were in the vicinity of the infamous library, and Danny halted dead in the air to avoid getting close to it, expecting the ghost beside him to do the same. To his amazement and the confusion of his friends below, the white ghost merely flew right for the library, disappearing through the walls to enter the building.

"Ghost got guts." Tucker remarked inanely as Danny flitted about in the air just out of the dead zone surrounding the library. Sam gaped at the building and shook her head clear, trying to make sense of the situation.

"It... it went in? But none of the ghosts we encountered before would dare to get near it!" she exclaimed in astonishment, "Why the hell did this one just float in like it owned the place?" She looked up at the half-ghost darting back and forth, moth-like, trying to find some way of continuing the chase without suffering the ill effects of the library's influence. "Danny! Get down here and change back!" she yelled up and looked around quickly to be sure no one heard her. The streets were empty, so they were safe. Danny shot down by her side, a frustrated expression crossing his face as the ring reappeared around his waist. In twain, it traveled along him again, reversing the prior changes until he was human once more, the Fenton Thermos still strapped to his body.

"That is so **not** fair." he grumbled, grabbing Sam's wrist as he made for the building. Sam grabbed onto Tucker's arm, dragging him along as Danny turned the three of them intangible, the shift in color and mass slightly disorienting to the two teens. Sam stared out at the world through the altered vision; everything looked hazy when they were intangible, like mist. And it felt like she was numb when she passed through objects, a tingling sensation across her skin similar to the kind one gets when a limb falls asleep. "I can't get near this place in ghost mode, and that one just flies right in! What is _wrong_ with this world that I can't catch a break?" Danny continued his complaint once they were safely phased through the doors of the library and in solid form once again.

Tucker dusted himself off unnecessarily, then peered at Danny's hand still gripping Sam's before chuckling to himself. The other two turned to look at him in confusion and he only whistled innocently, rocking back and forth on his heels. Sam lifted an eyebrow at him, then heard Danny's startled little yelp and her hand suddenly felt less warm. She blushed, pulling it close as Danny apologized brokenly at having held on so long.

"I should have taken a snapshot of that! It was priceless!" Tucker laughed. Rolling his eyes and leaving Sam to deal with him, Danny walked away from the group, flicking on a flashlight as he searched for the ghost. The library was closed, a stroke of luck given the streak he had so far involving the building. The light played over the rows of books as he moved down the aisles. Nothing. He stood still for a moment, breathing slowly as he waited for his ghost sense to go off. No puff of visible breath, no sudden chill to shake his body... the ghost was gone.

Irritated, he headed back to Sam and Tucker, stuffing the flashlight back into the pack he pulled it from. He unclasped the belt and Thermos, handing it back to the Goth. She gave him a puzzled look as she took the device in her hands.

"It got away. No ghost sense, no ghost." he explained. Tucker looked around in confusion.

"No way. How could a ghost just vanish in here? There's no portal to the Ghost Zone!" he exclaimed incredulously. Danny scratched his head and shrugged.

"Maybe it went _through_ the library and continued on outside?" he wondered aloud and hit himself as soon as he finished those words, "Idiot! Then I wasted time in here for nothing!"

"It looked harmless anyway." Sam tried to console the boy, "I bet it was looking for a nail or something to hammer down. And the way it was fading, it probably gave out after it phased through here and disappeared." The halfa still looked glum at the idea of losing the ghost, especially one so pathetic. "C'mon. Let's get outta here. We'll get some ice cream. My treat." she tried again and Danny brightened.

"Hey, cool! Thanks!" he exclaimed and grabbed both teens by the hands, racing for the door and turning intangible along the way.

* * *

"You look happy. Should I be worried?" Danny asked his sister later that evening. He was in a good mood himself. Except for the strange bedsheet ghost that escaped him in the library, no other specters had decided to interrupt his walk home from the Nasty Burger. He actually made it in before curfew. Jazz smiled wider as she held out a sheet of paper before her.

"Found out some more about that billionaire sponsor of ours!" she replied cheerfully and pulled out a chair to sit in, "I had to browse a few web sites for the info, but what I found seems interesting." Danny slipped the paper from her fingers with intangibility and ignored her glare of annoyance as he read over the print-out.

"Goes by the name Hounder, but doesn't say if that's his first or last name. Rarely ever shows himself unless absolutely necessary." he read aloud, eyebrow raised at the 'facts', "Not married, no kids, no companions except for the scholar he sends out often. Has multiple homes in multiple cities, favorite one being situated in New York. Each home is available for touring..." He handed the paper back, shrugging. "So?" Jazz snatched the sheet out of his hand and folded her arms over her chest smartly.

"Don't you think it's odd for a billionaire to shun the outside world, but have the largest collection of its history in existence? And this scholar friend of his doesn't ever say more than a few words about him, so any interview with him about Hounder is futile. In fact, after any interview with him, almost all records of the interview wind up being destroyed by a mysterious accident." she told the boy. His head tilted to one side in slight interest. "Most of the records were digital and they were wiped clean overnight. Anything physical is destroyed by fire or is shredded or soaked with water... isn't that weird to you?" she pressed on.

"Yeah, kinda. So there's barely any information about this Hounder guy, his scholar friend is protected from the media by a streak of bad luck that doesn't affect him, and these guys are providing our school with a mythology class using information from their archive." Danny summed up and rubbed his head, "Man, why does Amity Park attract all the weirdos of the world?"

"That's not all." Jazz went on, her voice lowering dramatically, "I found out today who is teaching that mythology class." Danny stared at her and she smiled in triumph. "It's the scholar. I'd keep my eyes open for anything ghostly while he's here. That might be what caused those accidents." she whispered. Danny rolled his eyes at that.

"You just want to fight more ghosts with the Fenton Ghost Peeler." he sighed in exasperation and turned to the refrigerator himself, "I'm gonna make dinner, seeing as Mom and Dad are still downstairs working. How's that ghost tranquilizer thing coming?"

"The Fenton Spook Sleeper? After that explosion yesterday, Mom took it over and decided to make it a spray instead of a dart." Jazz answered dryly, "Said she was getting tired of guns blowing up every time Dad tries to tweak it."

"Least it won't hurt if I get hit with it." Danny grumbled as he pulled out a package of chicken from the freezer.

* * *

Night was strangely quiet. Danny lay in bed, staring at the ceiling for a while before turning to look at his clock. Two in the morning and he still couldn't sleep. If he had been too anxious about a ghost attack to sleep before, then now he was too anxious _for_ a fight to stay in bed. He climbed out and shed pajamas for a shirt and shorts, tying on his sneakers before allowing the ring of white to appear and transform him.

Flying at night was calming and Danny let the gentle wind whisk away his stress and anxieties as he floated over the city. The next day would be the day he would attend the mythology class instead of keyboarding class. On the one hand, he was curious to know what kinds of stories and myths he would learn about. On the other, he wasn't sure if having a mysterious scholar teaching the class was the best thing in the world for Amity Park. Last thing he needed was for mysterious accidents to start occurring and creating a lot more messes for Danny Phantom to clean up or, in the case of the anti-DP group, for Inviso-Bill take the blame. He swept the thought from his mind, relaxing again as he let the whole of his body embrace the feeling of freedom only flight could give him.

After a few minutes, he touched down in the park and jogged on the grass towards the Amity Park Public Library. It was a spur of the moment decision, and he was unarmed, but what harm was there in taking another look inside the building to see if he could find that bedsheet ghost? After all, it looked harmless and it was immune to the weird vibes the library gave off. If he could take it back to the Fenton lab and have Jazz help him figure it out, maybe he could get that same immunity himself.

He hoped that thought didn't make him like his parents.

The streets were empty and quiet, the only light around from lampposts and the stars and moon above. Danny stood just outside the dead zone of the library, watching. He murmured to himself as he waited for something to happen.

"I shouldn't even be out here. I should be at home, asleep, like other normal kids. I just know I'm gonna be tired tomorrow. My first impression to that teacher is gonna be me passing out in his class. Great." he muttered, "And why the heck am I still standing here? The ghost is in there, not out here." Danny shook his head and marched for the doors, phasing through to start his search.

He didn't even need to make the effort. There was the bedsheet ghost just floating in the middle of the library. Only, it looked different. Danny stopped short of it, staring with wide eyes at the fully formed ghost. It was still shaped like a sheet tossed over a child, and it still wielded that silly wooden hammer, but it was solid now, not translucent like it had been earlier. Its empty eyes locked onto Danny's own and he froze. Like staring into an abyss, captured by the vision of falling forever into darkness, he remained motionless, uttering a strangled gasp for air as the ghost began waving its arms.

It seemed incredible, what happened in the next few moments, but Danny would swear later that what he saw and experienced was completely on the level. The ghost waved its arms and a glowing red circle appeared below it. It was enough to draw his attention and Danny stared down at the intricate runes and designs that formed the circle. Finding himself freed of the eerie gaze, he immediately shouted out his battle cry of 'I'm goin' ghost!' and called the ring up to transform him.

Bad idea.

_"...fall into the abyss of nothingness, the oblivion, the End of All. I shall rule this world of life, the land of the living, in conjunction with the land of the dead, the world of darkness. This shall be my kingdom, the kingdom of Niflheim. You of the line of the land of the dead, come to my side and serve thy king, the Ruler of the Underworld!"_ a voice called out, part of the message cut off by his inability to hear it as a human. Danny reeled back from the command, hands flying up to his ears as he stared at the ghost before him. He shook his head and immediately dropped the form, reverting to human to avoid the nearly overwhelming command repeating itself. It was powerful, and he almost gave in. The sight of the ruined future in his mind's eye was enough motivation to keep him from giving in, but a second dose so soon would crush him.

Then he learned what the bedsheet ghost was doing the whole time. When the circle of red glowed its brightest, the specter threw its arms forward and, incredibly enough, a slew of fireballs came rushing forth as the circle disappeared. Danny held up his arms for protection as he jumped aside, but several of them blasted him across the room. He turned intangible at the last moment to avoid slamming into the front desk. Landing outside in the bushes, Danny gave himself the luxury of screaming in pain as he held his burned arms close. The skin was deep red, and blisters were forming. Moving them hurt like hell, and if he so much as tried to gather ectoplasm in his hands for the Ghost Ray, it would increase the pain a hundred-fold.

Danny scrambled to his feet and raced away from the library, glancing over his shoulder to see if the ghost was following, but his ghost sense wasn't going off and it didn't appear as if the specter was all that interested in chasing him. He stopped in the park and plunged his arms into the fountain, biting down on another scream that threatened to rip itself from his mouth. Second-degree burns, possibly third-degree; in all honesty, Danny should take himself to the nearest emergency hospital right away. But then he'd have to explain what he was doing out so late, how he burned himself, and then they'd have to call his parents, possibly the police...

A flash of light and Danny Phantom stared down at his reflection, covered arms still deep in the water. Yet another perk of being a halfa, he actually had a reflection and could be recorded by normal cameras. However, with every camera in Amity Park fitted with Fenton Lenses to record any ghost that came flitting by, no one thought to wonder about Danny Phantom's uniqueness.

He sighed as the cold of the water combined with the cold of his ghostly form deadened the pain in his limbs. Ghosts healed quickly for some strange reason, and that regenerative ability came in handy during times like this. Already fast at recovery as a human, the power was at its peak when he was in ghost form. The jumpsuit clinging to his skin wasn't helping though, and Danny debated modesty over comfort to his problem. In the end, comfort won and he carefully unzipped the front of his costume, then winced as he tugged his arms free of the sleeves and gloves. He slipped them back under the water as the top half of the black and white suit draped down behind him.

There were faint marks on his arms where the burns scarred his human form, reminders that the two forms were reflections of each other. He waited a while longer before the motions of clenching his hands into fists gave him a more bearable ache than stark pain. Pulling away from the fountain, he went intangible once more, allowing the water to fall away from him and leave him completely dry. Danny shrugged the suit back on, zipped it closed and took to the sky. There would be no third meeting with the ghost tonight; he headed for Sam's house for a quick bit of help bandaging his arms.

* * *

At first, Sam was annoyed that he had shown up so early in the morning. Three in the morning was ridiculous, and she told him so as she opened the window after hearing the oddly erratic tapping on the glass. Danny could have easily phased through it, but was on a silent vow to be more polite with his friends and just knock and wait for admittance. He flew in and landed on her bed, arms carefully folded up close to his body as though in prayer. She took in the sight and grew concerned.

"Danny? Are you okay?" she asked, pulling up a chair for herself. She blinked again. "You haven't changed out of ghost mode. What's wrong?" she went on, her voice taking on a slight edge of panic.

"I ran into that bedsheet ghost again. I'll tell you the whole thing, but can you get the first aid kit in the meantime?" he sighed. Sam hurried to the bathroom and grabbed the white container, rushing back as the halfa began his account of what had happened to him. He winced visibly as he changed back to human form, showing her the blisters and burns that marred his arms. Sam mirrored his expression, biting her lip as tears welled in her eyes.

"How could it _do_ such a thing?" she murmured as she began applying the burn cream to the damaged skin, "You should have gone to a hospital; if the burns were that bad, you could have lost both arms to it! The nerves and muscle tissue would have been dead!"

"Which was why I went ghost so soon after I saw how bad they were. If ghostly healing could get to work on them in a hurry, then they should be fine, right?" he pointed out and clenched his jaw as Sam wound gauze strips around his forearms, wrapping everything from his wrists up to his elbows in white. She sat back to examine her handiwork, then leaned forward to give him a hug, sitting back quickly afterwards, a blush on her face.

"Be more careful, okay, Danny?" she murmured, "It's hard to see you get hurt as a ghost, but it's worse when you get hurt as a human." Danny nodded silently, a faint splash of red on his own cheeks as he tested his arms again. "So this ghost made a circle of red light appear and it shot balls of fire at you? And some mystery voice calling itself the King of the Underworld told you to help it conquer the world of the living? And you could only hear it as a ghost?" Sam switched topics, turning her focus on the situation. The halfa nodded again, frowning as he thought it over in his mind again.

"It mentioned a kingdom it already ruled. It was a weird name." he added and scrunched up his face, "I can't remember it now, but it started with an 'N'." Sam propped her chin onto her fist, thinking it over. Dressed in a thick black nightgown that kept her comfortably warm on cold nights, she felt only a slight embarrassment at knowing the boy she had a crush on sat on her bed, watching her. Unlike Danny Phantom's jumpsuit, Sam's nightdress lacked sex appeal.

"I can't think of a kingdom starting with 'N'. Do you remember anything else about it?" she finally said. Danny sighed and raked his memory for additional clues.

"Something about being the king of the land of the dead, ruling the land of the living in conjunction with it, and calling for those of 'the line of the land of the dead' or something." he finally remarked and shrugged lightly, "I thought he was talking about me only, but maybe that's what was scaring the other ghosts. This voice was calling to all the ghosts to join him." He smiled weakly. "Now I know why Desiree looked like she was gonna have a heart attack when she passed through the dead zone by accident. Well, if she had one, that is..." Sam laughed shortly at the memory, then shook her head.

"I can't think of anything. Sorry. Let's try researching the King of the Underworld tomorrow after school, okay?" she finally admitted defeat, "You think you can get to sleep with burned arms? Maybe you should stay out of school for the day, sit through another few hours in ghost mode until they fully heal." Danny shook his head.

"Too many questions will pop up. I'll be fine, the painkillers are helping already." he told her and shook the small bottle, "Thanks for letting me have them, by the way. I'll refill it for you later." She waved her hand in dismissal, but smiled at the gesture anyway. "Thanks again for the help. I'll see you later. G'night." He glanced at the clock and cringed. "Or good morning? Man, this is awkward. Well, see you at least." he muttered and promptly changed to ghost form, giving Sam another reason to turn red as she hurried to stuff the first aid kit back into the bathroom. Danny blinked at her actions, shrugged it off as Sam being Sam, and phased through the window, flying back towards his own room and hoping to catch at least three or four hours of sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

3

Casper High was buzzing with excitement now that the mythology class was debuting. Those who already attended the first session drifted through the day as though in a dream; the girls cooing with shining eyes, the boys beaming with pride and confidence. Sam and Tucker watched them go by as they waited for Danny to climb out of the locker he'd been shoved into (Dash wouldn't be sharing the class with him so he decided to do his daily stuffing early to compensate for it) and looked at each other in concern. The class wasn't that heavenly, was it?

"It's still gonna be cool." Sam insisted, "I mean, we're all gonna be in it together." She turned to Danny and winced visibly as he dropped down to the floor, arms folded up for protection. "You okay? How's the burn?" Tucker looked to the raven-haired boy sharply.

"Burn? What burn?" he demanded. Sam explained the late night encounter as Danny straightened the long sleeve shirt he chose to wear that day. Jazz had given him a strange look that morning when she saw him come downstairs with the shirt, a vaguely sleepy look and a couple of pills he secretly swallowed after breakfast. Other than that no one gave him a second glance or even considered the idea that he could be walking around with an injury or two. "You ran into a ghost that threw fireballs at you?" Tucker asked him in disbelief. Danny tested his arms again, judged them to be fit for movement and nodded in response. "That's whack. Seriously messed up." the dark-skinned boy grumbled, "Ghosts throw ectoplasm, not fire. Unless they're fire ghosts. Was it a fire ghost?"

"No." Danny muttered.

"Then it cheated." Tucker went on, a scowl on his face, "Messed up!"

* * *

As he figured, Danny began to drift off during science class. The few hours of sleep weren't peaceful, as every little bump or sound jolted him awake and the jolts aggravated his burned arms. He glanced around, decided it was fairly safe, and drifted off to sleep once more. His dreams, though brief, were disturbing. A giant shadowy figure rising from the library floor, reaching out to grab Danny Phantom from out of the air, voice booming the same words from before.

_"You of the line of the land of the dead, come to my side and serve thy king, the Ruler of the Underworld!"_

"NO!" Danny yelled out, jumping out of his seat as the class jumped in shock. The science teacher turned and glared at him as the other students twisted around to stare at him. Danny blinked as it dawned on him what had just happened and he sank back down in his chair, face red with embarrassment as the class began to snicker.

"Fenton, are you opposing the process of cellular mitosis?" the teacher asked dryly, "It's a little out of your hands, you know. At this moment, cells are dividing in your body. Your yelling won't stop them." The snickers turned to laughs that the teacher then had to quell. Danny sighed and dropped his head into his arms on his desk.

"Of course. I haven't done that in a while; I was due for class humiliation." he muttered to himself before resuming his nap.

* * *

Lunch was perfect for catching up on much needed rest. Danny quickly ate his lunch, then shoved his tray aside and dropped his head down to continue his sleep. Sam and Tucker watched him doze off, then turned to watch still more students that attended the mythology class float by on a cloud. Paulina and Star talked animatedly at their table, snippets of their conversation making their way to the two teens. Dash and Kwan were bent over books, a surprising change from them flicking paper footballs at each other.

"They're studying. It's a miracle." Sam remarked sarcastically, "That class must be really good if it can make the jocks actually put their brains to work."

"What books are those?" Tucker wondered aloud, "Are they the class textbooks?" He squinted. "Do they come in a downloadable format?" he added. Sam rolled her eyes and looked over at the half-ghost, her gaze softening at the sight of the boy dozing by the window. A soft breeze from the school vents played with his hair and she reached out hesitantly to run her fingers through the strands.

"Sleep well, Danny." she murmured, yanking her hand back when she heard Tucker chuckling softly and Danny stirred at the sound. "Tucker!" Sam turned on the other boy with an angry face.

"I'm not getting any more sleep today, am I?" Danny muttered drowsily as he sat up and rubbed at his eyes. He shot Tucker a look. "What was so funny anyway, Tucker?" he asked and the boy gave him an innocent look. Danny turned to Sam, but the Goth was staring elsewhere, hiding the blush on her face by taking a new interest in the bulletin board on the far side of the room. He sighed and shrugged it off, then dug out his pill bottle, swallowing down another pair of painkillers. "So our next class is the mythology class, huh?" he asked, looking between the two.

"Yeah." came the even response from both teens. Danny rolled his eyes and lifted his hands in exasperation. Whatever it was that had been so funny to Tucker must have been at his expense. He was only glad that he'd slept through it.

* * *

The classroom appeared normal, save for the posters and paintings of various scenic places that hadn't been seen in ages. A bookshelf nearby was filled with copies of the books Dash and Kwan had been reading. The seats were slowly being filled as Sam, Tucker and Danny walked in to take their places. In the back, near a window; their usual positions to allow Danny an easy escape in the case of ghost attacks. They looked around in confusion. The students were settling in, the bell was soon to ring, but where was the teacher?

"Overstayed in the teacher's lounge, maybe?" Sam muttered under her breath. The students all sat and waited anxiously. The bell rang and still no teacher showed up. For a few minutes, no one knew what to think. Danny fiddled with his pencil and contemplated taking the rest of his nap. Another minute passed and just as he was lowering his head for sleep, the door flew open and a young man with bright red hair hurried into the room.

"Sorry, sorry! Shocked myself silly when I realized I lost track of time!" he apologized quickly, setting a stack of books down on the desk. He straightened and smoothed down his black turtleneck, noticing the horror-stricken faces of the students as their eyes were glued to the stack of incredibly thick books. "Oh, these? They're not for you. They're for me." the man told them and smiled as the class gave a collective breath of relief. He pointed at the bookshelf. "Those are your textbooks for this class. Much easier to work with, I assure you." he added.

"Paulina wasn't kidding. The guy's like an angel." Sam murmured in shock, "More than cute, the man's drop dead gorgeous!" Danny shot her a frustrated glare and sat back in his chair, a scowl on his face.

The man looked stunning indeed in all black, the outfit of turtleneck, jeans and boots accenting the red hair and pale skin. The only bits of color he had were from a green ribbon that held his hair back at the nape of his neck in a loose ponytail, seen when he turned to collect his books and take them to a small closet in the classroom, and a strange pin on his shirt that seemed to glow with a violet light. Sam smiled as she propped her cheek on one fist.

"He could be a Goth teacher. I knew this class was gonna be cool!" she sighed dreamily. Tucker looked over at her, then past her at Danny, lifting an eyebrow when the halfa gave a snort of disdain. The teacher emerged from the closet and stood before the class, relaxing against his desk in a casual pose that the students found appealing.

"Well, let me introduce myself." the teacher began with a smile, "My name is Caleb Altessa. I'm a scholar by trade, but I do have a teaching degree. Hopefully, all those college classes haven't drilled my sanity out or else we're all gonna be bored out of our minds." He showed brilliant white teeth in another smile, then waved a hand at the bookshelf. "Anyway, this class is sponsored by the Archives of the Twin Blades, dedicated to the archival of the history of the world. Mythology is a form of history, so I'll be teaching this class as though it were a history class."

"Fun." Danny muttered sarcastically.

"Everyone, please come up and take a copy of your textbook. Keep this book with you, as it is considered a gift from the Archives." Caleb went on, watching the students get up and head for the bookshelves uncertainly. "This textbook is from the first and oldest series, adapted for school use. _Legends of Symphonian Culture_ is a record of the creation of the world of Symphonia, that world we now call Earth." He raised an eyebrow as Danny walked by him to collect his book, shot him an angry glare, then returned to his seat.

"Mr. Altessa?" one student called out questioningly. The teacher winced.

"Just call me Caleb. The mister thing is overrated in my way of thinking and I'm used to people calling me by my first name." he remarked and shrugged as he sat on the desk. "Well, now that you know my name and received your textbooks, I'd like to learn your names. Attendance sheets are boring and faceless." He waved the clipboard at them before tossing it back onto the desk. "Useless for data gathering. So, if you don't mind, could each of you stand up and state your full names for me, please?"

"I want to throw up already." Danny grumbled and shot Sam another jealous glare, "Sam, don't tell me you're getting a crush on a _teacher_!" The Goth snapped out of her daydream and blinked at him.

"Are you... jealous?" she asked and Danny squirmed in his seat. She smiled coyly. "You are, aren't you? I don't see what the problem is. We're just friends, right?" Danny growled in frustration and sat back again, scowling out the window at the open skies. He listened to students standing up and announcing their names one by one, flinching when he heard Valerie's voice. Soon enough it was his turn and he stood to face the teacher. He paused, blinking as he took a second look at Caleb's face. For a moment, Danny thought the man's green eyes glowed. _'A ghost?'_ he wondered.

"Please state your full name." the teacher told him evenly. Danny looked puzzled. What kind of sentence was that? Strange way of asking someone their name.

"Daniel Fenton." he replied and sat down. He continued watching the teacher as he nodded and headed for the blackboard, picking up a piece of chalk to write out something on the board.

"Thanks. Don't worry. I never forget a person." Caleb paused and bowed his head slightly, then lifted it and continued writing. "We'll start with the first chapter, _Chosen of the Dying World_. Please turn your books to this chapter." He stopped writing and turned back to the class with a smile. "Reading aloud helps to strengthen one's confidence in public speech, so each of you will be called upon to read a section of the chapter to the class." he explained, "After we finish the chapter, we'll have a little discussion about it."

Danny found himself enjoying the class after a few students finished reading their sections. The textbook was written like a story, and it wasn't long before he was absorbed in the mythical world of an angelic little girl going forth to save the world with her friends to fulfill an ancient prophecy. He read his section eagerly and felt almost disappointed when the chapter ended. The discussion itself was also a time-eater. There were some instances where he could have sworn that it sounded as if Caleb had lived through the time period of the myth.

"I thought it was awfully wrong of those people to throw out those guys for what happened." Valerie remarked with a frown, "Yeah, it was tragic what happened to the people of that village; Iselia, right? But to put the blame on a couple of kids for it all?"

"Discrimination against those who were different at the time was powerful." Caleb told her, "It was easier to blame the ones caught in the middle than to take responsibility themselves."

Danny sat up and blinked. This seemed to hit a little close to home. Someone caught in the middle, paying for the hatred the pure-bloods held. He looked down at the pictures of the group of would-be heroes. A small boy with snow-white hair, his older sister with similar hair, a young girl with long blonde hair and the deepest, bluest eyes he'd ever seen, a tall and sturdy boy with brown hair and dressed all in red, and a dark-clad swordsman whose single visible eye seemed filled with countless regrets and sorrows; had they all been victims of that hatred themselves at one point?

"The ones with white hair seem a little strange. Were they special to the cause?" Sam asked aloud. Caleb nodded enthusiastically.

"Sharp eyes, Ms. Manson!" he praised, "Yes, those two were indeed special. They were of a race called half-elves, half-human, half-elf." He tapped his own copy of the book. "Half-elves were the chief victims of all acts of discrimination, as many of the Desian terrorists were half-elven. Both the races of humans and elves hated the half-elves with a passion, though oddly enough it was often their love of each other that created the half-elves."

"What if they were an accident?" Danny suddenly asked and the class turned to him, Sam and Tucker especially. He pressed on without notice, watching Caleb tilt his head encouragingly. "What if a half-breed was born by accident? It wasn't meant to be born, and it didn't ask to be born, but it was born anyway. What then?"

The bell rang to end class but no one moved, a first for Casper High. Caleb leaned back, watching him seriously.

"Powerful question, Mr. Fenton. A half-breed brought into the world by mistake was often the case for many of those in the ancient world." he replied, "They were hated the most, and the worst abuse was heaped on them. Torture, humiliation, beatings, rapes, even outright murders... such was the fate for those caught in between." He looked sad for a moment. "It drove many of the half-elves to madness and despair, even to the point of seeking vengeance against those who wronged them." Danny felt his heart sink at those words. Was that really what happened to half-breeds? Would it hold true to him?

"They became corrupt? Evil?" he murmured. Caleb nodded.

"Yes, they did. When the despair and the vengeance consumed them, most of the half-elves became the worst villains the world had ever seen." he agreed, then smiled warmly, "But some of them became the greatest heroes the world had ever known." He looked up at the clock and smiled wider. "Class has been over for a few minutes now. If you leave now, you'll be tardy to your next class. I'll write you all excuse slips so that doesn't happen." The class cheered as Danny looked down at his shoes in thought. "Your homework will be to prepare two arguments for Lloyd Irving and Genis Sage, one to defend them from the mayor and the other that supports the exiling of the boys. It will help you see just how powerful discrimination really was back then." he went on as he began scribbling out notes on a pad of paper. Each student collected a note and hurried out, elated with the class.

"Now, was **that** cool, or what?" Sam asked her friends as they collected their notes. "I really hope they make this class permanent!"

"I still wish he had a digital version of this book, but it's cool." Tucker remarked as they headed for the next class together. "Homework sounds pretty easy to do, except for that part about arguing for the exile. Those guys had it rough; how am I supposed to say 'Yeah, here's why we should kick 'em out'?" He looked over at Danny, who remained silent since receiving his answer. "Danny? You okay, man?"

"Huh?" the halfa blinked and looked back at his friend, "Uh, yeah. I'm fine. Just kinda thinking." Sam grinned at him.

"You were hating the class at first. What changed your mind?" she asked. Danny shrugged carelessly, clutching his slip in one hand.

"The story, I guess. Swordsmen and magic and ancient prophecies and stuff. It sounds cool." he replied blandly, "But it's just a story, a myth, right?"

"Discrimination isn't a myth, Danny." Tucker muttered under his breath. The other teens stared at him for a moment, then gazed down at their slips of paper. "I like how he's getting that into people's heads. The hatred is real, the brutality is real. Even if he's telling it through some fantasy story, the message is loud and clear. Nothing good comes from discrimination of races." He shrugged and made a face, breaking the suddenly serious mood. "Man, when's school gonna end already? Everything else is boring! Why couldn't we have gotten the class at the end of the day so we can take off on a good point?" he complained and ran for his next class, waving good-bye to the two other teens, "See ya later!"

* * *

The school day was done at last, and Danny was somewhat surprised that Dash and Kwan didn't come along to stuff him into a locker again. The real shock came from seeing them walk by while still reading the textbooks from the mythology class. Danny shook his head, blinked a few times and checked again. Nope, still reading. In fact, it looked as though they were reading ahead several chapters. Was the story **that** enthralling to the jocks? Now he was itching to read on himself.

Sam and Tucker waited for him just outside of the building, grinning as they waved to catch his eyes. He jogged over quickly and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally! So should we head over to your house, Sam? Start looking up that King of the Underworld thing?" he asked and gasped as a wisp of icy mist escaped his mouth, "No, not now! This day was going so well!" He looked around with his friends as they sought out the cause of the ghost sense. Someone screamed and a flock of students was racing around in a panic, shouting 'Ghost!' at the tops of their lungs. Sam, Tucker and Danny rushed to find a good hiding spot for the halfa. Darting behind a tree, he prepared for the transformation.

"I'm goin' gho-!" he began and ducked as the sound of shattering glass startled him. The ring of light appeared and changed him without the battle cry and he peered around the tree to see what had happened.

The bedsheet ghost was back, floating over the mythology teacher with hammer held high. Caleb was sitting up, shaking his head as shards of glass fell from his hair and clothes. Sam and Tucker looked startled by the scene.

"That thing was pathetic yesterday! How'd it get so strong now?" Sam yelled in alarm, "It threw Caleb through that window!" She turned quickly, "Danny! Hurry! Take it out!"

"Hey! Didn't I hang you out to dry already?" Danny Phantom taunted as he flew in to meet the invader, hands charging with ectoplasmic energy, "You want another round?" He winced slightly in pain; the painkillers were starting to wear off. Looking down at the startled teacher, he waved an arm aside. "Run, sir! Get out of here!"

"Do you even _know_ what you're facing?" Caleb shouted back, scrambling to his feet.

"Yeah! A ghost! I deal with 'em all the time, c'mon!" Danny declared incredulously, "Now will you get out of here?" The hammer suddenly flew out of the ghost's hand, spinning towards Danny. He went intangible to avoid the blow, solidifying to continue yelling at the teacher.

"Duck!" the redhead shouted and Danny flopped to the ground, dazed when the hammer slammed his back on its return trip. Caleb threw his hands up in exasperation. "Martel, you're an amateur!" he griped, "You're a ghost, right? Elements, man! Use your Elements!" With that, he hurried off to get out of the way of the battle. Danny recovered with a quick shake of his head.

"Elements? What?" he muttered and turned back to the ghost, staring in shock as it called up that red circle of light again, "Not again!" He threw a hand forward, firing the green blast of the Ghost Ray at it. Amazingly enough, the shock of getting hit made the red circle disappear. Danny stared down at the ground, puzzled. Was that the circle's weakness? If the ghost got hit before it could finish forming the circle, the light would just vanish harmlessly?

"Danny! Here!" Tucker shouted, hurling a Fenton Thermos at him. Danny grabbed it out of the air and turned its suction beam on the bedsheet ghost. Instead of being drawn into the Thermos, however, the ghost writhed in agony, then exploded into nothingness. Danny closed the Thermos, staring in horror at the empty space as he floated down onto the grass. Sam and Tucker joined him quickly, startled by what they had just witnessed.

"It's gone." Tucker murmured and stared at the halfa, "What'd you do to it?" Danny's eyes remained fixed to the last place he had seen the ghost.

"I... I don't know. I used the Thermos like I always do, but..." he stammered shakily.

"It's been destroyed." Caleb filled in as he walked up to the group. He tilted his head and looked pointedly at Sam and Tucker, "You two are here. Where's Fenton? Wasn't he with you?" The two teens glanced at each other.

"Oh! That's right! He... ran away... when the ghost came!" Sam managed to say, "We should really go looking for him. C'mon, Tucker! Thanks for helping us, Phantom!" She grabbed Tucker's arm and raced off, calling Danny's name for show as the boy struggled to keep up. Danny watched them leave, then turned a horrified look at the teacher.

"Destroyed? I actually _killed_ a ghost?" he murmured weakly, a sickened expression coming over his face. Caleb nodded. "I didn't mean to. I only wanted to capture it, put it back in the Ghost Zone..."

"That ghost doesn't belong there, either. Look, don't worry about it. If you didn't kill it, it would just start killing everyone else here." the teacher told him, "That ghost is a Dark Element creature. What you did was hit it with Light Element. That canceled it out and killed it." He lifted an eyebrow at the Thermos in Danny's hands. "Though, I didn't know you could store Light Element mana in a mechanical device like that. But then, who am I to say what technology can't do?" He bent forward to peer at it. "It says 'Fenton' on it. You know the Fentons?" he asked in curiosity.

"I borrow equipment from their ghost hunting lab. Their son just kinda drops it off where I can get it." Danny lied quickly and put the Thermos behind his back. "Erm, so, that whole Light and Dark thing... that's what you meant by Elements?" he shifted the subject. Caleb nodded.

"I told you to use your Elements, but it looks as though you don't have any." he sighed and cocked his head in mild exasperation, "I knew I should have done more research on modern day ghosts, but I could never get to a location that had many of them for comprehensive study." He smiled brightly. "But when I learned about Amity Park and its slew of ghostly activity, I knew this would be a great place to do data collection!" Danny blinked as the smile got wider. "And you're a ghost, right? Would you mind if I interviewed you sometime this week for that purpose? Maybe run a few tests?"

"Uh, interview is fine. I don't like tests, though. More pain than it's worth." Danny answered in a rush, backing away from the teacher in a panic. So was this why the test class was set up? So Hounder could have an excuse to send this scholar into Amity for research on ghosts? Caleb shrugged.

"My tests aren't lethal. Heck, just standing there and talking to me, I've already run a few. I'll get the results in an hour or so." he remarked and Danny jumped into the air, shocked. Caleb looked up at him. "So, an interview for now is okay? How about Thursday? Where would you like to meet?" Danny looked around for a moment, trying to search out his friends, spotted them near some bushes in the distance and then turned back to the redhead.

"Here at the school is fine. Midnight, if possible. Come alone and we'll talk." he finally stammered out, "Now, I have to go. If I'm here too long, someone might call the Fentons and last thing I need is to have them test their ghost hunting equipment on me." With that he shot off into the sky.

Looping around and flying through ground, Danny managed to rise from behind the bushes Sam and Tucker 'searched' in and change back to human form. He climbed out and scanned the area, but the mythology teacher was already gone and the janitor was working on repairing and cleaning up the mess left behind by the ghost. He breathed a sigh of relief as he handed Tucker the Thermos.

"That was close. Hey, Tuck, remind me I have to be here at midnight on Thursday." Danny told him. Tucker plugged the entry into his PDA as Sam looked at him curiously.

"Why?" she asked. The halfa shrugged.

"Caleb wants to interview Danny Phantom for research. Said he was also gonna do tests. I said 'no tests' and he said he already ran a few and I didn't even feel a thing or see him pull out any instruments or anything!" he explained and scratched his head. "He's weird. How can someone run tests on a ghost without equipment?"

"Entry logged. So, what's this about researching the King of the Underworld?" Tucker asked, "Sounds like Pariah Dark, but he was King of Ghosts, right?" The three of them began the walk to Sam's house as they continued wondering over the strange message and even stranger mystery.

* * *

Online searches came up with no information about the King of the Underworld. Sam sighed in irritation as Tucker tried everything he could think of to expand the search and flag down as many potential source sites as possible. Danny sat on the windowsill, sleeves rolled up as he began carefully unwrapping the gauze strips. When they fell away, only faint burn scars remained on his skin.

"Well, it's getting there. Don't know if ghost healing can get rid of the scars, but if it's minimal, then no one should be able to see it." he remarked, flexing his arms and watching the slightly mottled skin shift around. He dug into his backpack and pulled out the textbook from mythology class, opening it up to read ahead.

"You're gonna read that whole thing already?" Sam asked incredulously, "It can't be **that** fascinating to you!" Danny shrugged as he flipped through the pages.

"It's a cool story. These guys are facing monsters of all kinds, the evil creatures crawling all over the place, cruel people with no morals, the kind that come from inside themselves..." he remarked, "All so they can save the world and bring life back to the land."

"Restore mana to the land, you mean." Sam pointed out, "The term they used for energy that enables anything to live and function is mana." Danny nodded, then looked up at her strangely.

"Caleb said the same thing about that ghost at school. He said it was using Dark Element mana and the Fenton Thermos used Light Element mana." he realized, "When the light of the Thermos hit the ghost, the two opposing mana Elements canceled each other out. That's why the Thermos failed to catch the ghost, and the ghost exploded." Tucker turned in his chair to blink at him.

"You're saying that this mana stuff could be real?" he asked in confusion, "Danny, it's a story, a _myth_. This is just what people made up to explain things they couldn't figure out in ancient times." Sam pulled out her own copy and studied it.

"Who wrote these things? 'Rettweiler'?" she murmured and opened it to the title page, "Written by Rettweiler, adapted from _The History of the World Reunification Journey_, also written by Rettweiler with notes and footnotes taken by Caleb Altessa, all sources property of the Archives of the Twin Blades maintained by the Hounder Organization." She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Dogs. They all sound like dogs." she murmured.

"Twin Blades, huh? This Lloyd guy uses two swords for fighting. Was the archive's name inspired by him?" Danny wondered aloud. Tucker jumped out of his seat.

"Got it! I got a hit! Finally!" he shouted, "King of the Underworld, known also as the King of Nif- uh, whatever that word is! Data and information about the King of the Underworld can be found in..." Tucker sat back down as the other teens rushed over to look with him. Sam frowned as Danny lifted an eyebrow.

"The Archives of the Twin Blades?" he finished for his friend, "Well, this is getting interesting. We have a scholar from the Archives teaching at our school who wants to collect data on ghosts, and something in the Public Library is calling to all ghosts in Amity Park. To top it all off, the common link between them is the Archives." Sam glared down at the book in her hands, jaw clenched tightly.

"But the thing in the library has been there for nearly a month. Caleb only got here today. There's nothing I can think of to link them except that Caleb works for the Archives and we can find information about that King of the Underworld from the Archives." Tucker pointed out and dug out his own book. "Though, it might help if we all read through this thing and see if it has any clues to help us. The Archives of the Twin Blades is located in museums all over the world, thousands of copies of a central collection of history and mythology. We can't get to them, so we'll just have to use this and maybe ask Caleb himself." Sam looked at both boys angrily.

"We can't trust that guy! Danny was right; he **is** weird! He got thrown through that window, and there wasn't even a scratch on him! He didn't even panic!" she declared, waving her arms in the air, "And now he wants to run tests on Danny and he works for some archive that's linked to this weird voice in the library that wants Danny to join him in taking over the world!" The boys only stared at her.

"Hey, you were the one who said this class could help me figure out ghosts. Well, it's brought us another clue about this thing in the library." Danny told her and looked at the clock, "I'd better get home. My parents are starting to get used to me making it in before curfew, and Jazz said she'd help me with the mythology homework." He grinned sheepishly. "She was really floaty today." He collected his things and headed for the door with Tucker. Sam still scowled at her copy of the book. "Relax, Sam! Everything will be fine! Heck, the teacher will probably have forgotten everything by tomorrow!" Danny added cheerfully and left with a wave. Sam waved back to them, then looked back at her book.

"All dogs." she repeated, "Rettweiler plays off of rottweiler, Hounder plays off of hound, and Caleb is Hebrew for 'loyal', like a dog. Why are there so many dog names connected with the Archives?"

* * *

Doing the homework with Jazz was interesting, to say the least. Danny endured the squeals of joy, the content little coos and the dreamy sighs that often came out of his older sister. She had completed her assignment already and was helping him put together an argument for the exile. It had been easy to write out why the two boys shouldn't have been banished, but to stand on the opposite side...

He hated that part.

"They were just doing what they thought was right! And when something bad happens because of it, they get all the blame! It wasn't their fault!" Danny protested as Jazz pointed out psychological reasons for the exile, "I was just trying to help!"

"Danny, this isn't about you. This is about Lloyd and Genis." Jazz told him calmly, "You're getting too attached to this story. It's **just** a story." The halfa winced, realizing his last sentence reflected his personal experience. But even if it was just made-up, the situation was too similar to his current life. He could almost feel as though, if they switched places, his feelings and Lloyd's and Genis' would be exactly the same.

They did what they thought was right and were punished wrongly for it. It just wasn't fair.

"At least he accepted it. I couldn't do that. Maybe this Lloyd guy had a stronger sense of duty and justice than me." Danny sighed as he began writing. The argument he put together was weak and Jazz told him so, but he brushed it off and declared it good enough. His heart just wasn't into bashing on someone he was starting to look up to. "I don't get why the girl is the hero when the boy seems to fit the bill better." he remarked, flipping through the pages, "Sure he got himself captured by Desians, but he led them through the Seal of Fire, right?"

"Are you reading ahead? Don't tell me what happens next!" Jazz cried and fled the kitchen. Danny only continued flipping through the chapters, noting that some paragraphs had little numbers that signaled a footnote. Some parts of the story couldn't make it into the book as they were part of another collection, and the footnotes told him which book to find to read more about the missing pieces. The images were stunning to look at as well, with brilliant colors and extraordinary detail, paintings that looked almost lifelike, almost photographic.

"Hey, if these are just stories and myths, why is there so much detail to what the guys looked like? Most myths I've heard of from Sam were pretty vague on what the people looked like." Danny muttered in a puzzled tone. He closed the book and sat back, confused. "Like pieces of a puzzle, but I have no idea what the picture is supposed to be." he sighed and collected the materials, sweeping them into his backpack. He'd try to get some rest and hope that he was fully healed the next day. Another trip to the library was in order.


	4. Chapter 4

4

School the next day was a blur of classes and students squirming in their seats. Everyone who was enrolled in the mythology class was anxious to get to it. Danny tapped his pencil against his desk, thoughts of the prior day's conversation with the teacher whirling in his head. Half-breeds could become the worst villains ever, or they could become the greatest heroes in the world. The potential for all kinds of halfas was the same, and it could also be said for just about anything alive. The idea of a half-breed, created by accident, going through the worst kind of life imaginable, and still making the choice to become a hero to the world... it matched far too well to his own life.

Could he possibly have the chance to ensure the future that Dan Phantom destroys never happens? To fully escape the threat of Dark Danny?

The bell rang and he jumped at the sound, too absorbed in his thoughts to be prepared for it. Hurrying down the hall, he passed by Dash and Kwan as they leaned against a row of lockers, noses in the books and feet out to make some attempt at tripping people over. Danny merely sidestepped them, wondering just how far ahead they were reading as he slipped into the class himself. Sam and Tucker were already seated, waiting for him. Caleb sat at his desk, looking somewhat distant as he stared out the window. He was dressed again in a black outfit, the same as the day before. For a moment, Danny wondered if those were the only clothes he had, then looked at his own favorite red and white t-shirt and decided it must be a set that looked exactly like the previous one. He knew about having multiples of the same outfit; if it was comfortable, he got more of it.

"Good afternoon, Caleb!" the class called out and the teacher snapped to attention.

"Welcome. Please state your business." he rattled off automatically and shook his head, "Huh? Oh, sorry! Ignore that. It's a weird response." He shrugged sheepishly at the students staring at him. "I've been trying to get over it for years now and nothing's worked, so I kinda gave up on it." He pat a box on his desk. "Homework gets turned in here. I'll grade it after class." he added and waited as the students each came up to drop their papers in.

Danny lifted an eyebrow at the whole scene. What was up with the teacher? He acted and talked strangely, but his ghost sense didn't go off around him. Was there something in the room masking it, blocking his ability to sense ghosts? He scanned the room carefully.

"Is it okay that we've been reading ahead in the books?" Valerie asked shyly, "The story was too exciting to leave alone!" Caleb grinned at her.

"Thanks. No, it's all right if you read ahead. I was going to suggest it yesterday, but we overstayed our first class and then we had that little ghost attack while I was preparing the announcement." he remarked and scowled at the window, "It broke my window and let me tell you, I was plenty mad about it. If I see another one of those things, I'm going to give it a piece of my mind!"

"Ghosts?" Valerie echoed darkly, a dangerous gleam in her eyes at the thought of one having been around and her not being there to attack it.

"Yes, well. Enough of that. Now, I suspect you've read the chapter on the Triet Desians and the Seal of Fire, chapter two. Have all of you reached the third chapter, _Assassin on the Ossa Trail_?" Caleb asked the class, looking around at several nods, "Would you like to discuss those chapters today for class? If we have enough time, we'll move onto reading the next chapter aloud." Sam lifted her hand and the redhead blinked, then called her name. The Goth stood up, a serious expression on her face.

"I want to know more about Rettweiler and Hounder, sir. Why is it that they, and you, have names that are related to dogs?" she asked grimly. The class stared at her in confusion, then looked up at the deadpan expression on their teacher's face.

"Ms. Manson, that doesn't have anything to do with the current discussion." Caleb answered flatly, "Unless you have something to say about the chapters..."

"Just answer it! You and your employer and the author of the books in the Archives of the Twin Blades all have names that are linked to dogs! What kind of craziness is that?" Sam shouted in frustration.

"We happen to like dogs." Caleb replied emotionlessly, folding his arms over his chest, "Rettweiler and Hounder are pseudonyms for my employer and co-worker. My name is the only true name there is. Can we get back to the book now, Ms. Manson?" Sam sat down in a huff, but her eyes had that thoughtful gleam to it. Danny watched her in concern, then scrawled out a note and passed it to her on the sly as the discussion began. She glanced at it, then at him, then plucked it out and opened it under her desk.

_"What was that about, Sam?"_ the note read and she scrawled an answer back before passing it on to him. Danny opened it up for the response. _"I have a hunch. Let me think about it some more."_ it said and he shoved it into his pocket, a frown forming on his face.

"The Sorcerer's Ring must be a piece of ancient technology!" Tucker exclaimed excitedly, "That's why it could adapt to different situations, right?" Caleb nodded, writing on the chalkboard.

"That's right. It was called a holy artifact, but in reality, it was a piece of dwarven technology designed to adapt to the current environment to act as a tool and key." he agreed and folded his arms over his chest. "Technology that was created in the past and endures all the way to the future, functioning as well or even better than current technologies is called 'prochaic'. The Sorcerer's Ring is one such piece of prochaic technology." He held out a hand to the class, signaling a new activity, "If we had that kind of technology today, what uses could it have in our world?" The class thought it over. "Go ahead and talk among yourselves. Brainstorm some ideas. If you had a Sorcerer's Ring, what would you have it do? What could it adapt to?" Caleb added, managing a smile on his face that the Goth judged to be just a mask.

"Your name is the only real one, and the others are pseudonyms." Sam murmured under her breath, "Could that mean that the other two men are made up and Caleb is the only real person of the group? Then who's funding the Archives? Who's writing the books?" She turned to her friends. "Guys, I think that Hounder and Rettweiler don't exist. I think Caleb is playing three roles at the same time." she whispered to them.

"What?" Danny whispered loudly, startled at the thought, "What are you saying? That the _teacher_ is a billionaire?"

"He's a billionaire?" Tucker echoed and smiled, "Hey, he could afford the coolest gadgets and computers in the world, then! I wonder if he'll let me see them." Sam rolled her eyes at the boy and turned back to Danny.

"Think about it. He said thanks to Valerie when she complimented the book. He wouldn't have said it if he wasn't the one who wrote it!" she pointed out, "But, why would a scholar pretend to be a billionaire and an author?"

"He can't pretend to be a billionaire; he has to be one. Jazz looked up stuff about Hounder on the Internet." Danny told her, "He's not married and doesn't have kids, he lives alone, his favorite house is in New York, and Tucker said yesterday that there's thousands of copies of the Archives all over the world. A plain old scholar can't afford that!"

"And someone had to write the original set of the Archives. Who better to do that than the archivist who collected the information first-hand?" Tucker pointed out. They looked up to watch the teacher as he wrote out suggestions from the other students on the chalkboard. Danny looked confused.

"But why would he want to hide that? Anytime anyone asks him about Hounder and records it, the records get destroyed by mysterious forces. Why wouldn't he want any evidence of his connections with Hounder to exist?" he wondered aloud. Caleb turned back to the class and they separated quickly, trying to look as though they were interested in the list.

"Those are lots of good ideas, though I'm not sure mimicking the Green Lantern's ring is all that possible." the teacher chuckled and put the chalk down. "Anything else? Any thoughts on the Seal of Fire or the encounter on the Ossa Trail?" One student waved a hand for attention.

"Why was she trying to kill the Chosen? Did that assassin really reject salvation?" the boy asked.

"Funny enough, she was actually trying to bring salvation by killing the Chosen. However, it wasn't salvation for Sylvarant she was intent on. Those of you who read past this chapter know what I'm talking about." Caleb answered, "So I'll have to explain it for everyone. The assassin was from a parallel world named Tethe'alla, and that world was linked to Sylvarant. If Sylvarant was 'saved', its mana restored, then Tethe'alla would begin to fail and lose its own mana." He reached into his desk and pulled out an hourglass. He held it out to the class. "Think of the two worlds like an hourglass." Caleb told them and flipped it over, allowing the sand to fall through. "When one world begins to lose mana, it actually starts flowing to the other world, feeding it and making it healthy and lush. As time passes, more mana flows on and the first world starts to die. Before that happens, the Chosen is sent out to do the world regeneration." He flipped the glass over and the sand began falling back. "When all the seals are broken and the Chosen climbs the Tower of Salvation, the flow reverses. The other world begins to lose its mana, thus continuing the cycle of prosperity and dearth."

"So the assassin wanted to keep the sand flowing to her world?" another student questioned. Caleb nodded.

"Mana. The term for the life force of the worlds is mana. It is a substance that is more important to life than water. Without mana, the very land dies. It stops supporting crops, animals and plants wither and die, magic becomes unusable. Eventually, the world is destroyed." he explained, "Sheena wanted to stop that from ever happening to her world, so she was sent forth to make sure the other world died first, thinking that it would stop the hourglass and keep all the mana on Tethe'alla's side forever." With that, he cracked the hourglass, removing the empty top half and tossing it into the trash can.

"Would it have worked?" another student asked. Danny puzzled over the answer. The teacher was answering everything with such intimate knowledge. Something that could only be done if one had personal experience with the situation. He rubbed his head. The hourglass thing really brought home the complex situation the two worlds in the story found themselves in. Made the whole thing much easier to understand. What puzzled him was how the teacher kept responding as if he had witnessed the whole thing. Crazy.

"For a short time. But there was a catch. Even with the other world dead, an outside force would intervene and turn the cycle again for his own ends. In which case," Caleb replied grimly and turned the half-hourglass over, the sand spilling out into the waste basket, "Tethe'alla would die anyway and no number of world regeneration journeys would bring back the mana that was lost because they would lose a source to take it from. And the outside force would not care." He released the now empty and broken hourglass, dropping it into the can. "Everything destroyed because people could not comprehend the situation, cooperate despite their differences, and see where the true evil lies."

Danny nodded despite his thoughts. That was true, so very true. It fit so many of the situations he found himself in constantly and he wondered if the story could help Amity Park understand him better as Danny Phantom. He wasn't the bad guy; there were worse things out there that could hurt them, but the anti-DP groups kept focusing on him. Maybe this would teach them to take a closer look at what they were doing. He was supposed to be the city's hero, right? So why did some people still hold grudges against him for things he had no control over?

His mouth opened slightly and a faint wisp of breath escaped, his body suddenly chilling in the room. Well, so much for there being a relic in the room that blocked his ghost sense. Panicked, he looked around for the source. Where was the ghost?

Someone shrieked and pointed at the window and the whole class jumped up to see what was going on. Caleb joined them in confusion and looked outside. A second bedsheet ghost floated just outside the building, holding its hand out in a beckoning motion. Valerie growled angrily and raced away. Danny gulped and followed hurriedly, searching out a place to transform. Sam and Tucker would keep the class occupied and distracted; last thing he needed was someone else finding out what he was up to.

"Oh, not this again." Caleb grumbled and opened the window, "Everyone! Stay inside! I'll deal with this thing!" Sam and Tucker glanced at each other and rushed after him.

"Wait! Don't go! What if you get hurt? Who's gonna keep an eye on the class?" Sam cried in alarm, grabbing his arm.

"Who's gonna call 9-1-1?" Tucker added helpfully. Caleb shot them a warning glare and yanked his arm free.

"You'll be fine if you stay in here. I know what I'm doing." he growled and leaped through the window, running after the ghost as it floated away from the school towards the street.

"Danny's not gonna like this." Tucker sighed helplessly. Sam turned and grabbed for her backpack before rushing out the door.

"Maybe, but I think he'll like having Valerie and Caleb both on his case even less!" she muttered to herself.

* * *

Danny shot after the ghost once he was fully transformed, blinking in shock as he spotted the mythology teacher racing after the ghost as well. He swooped down alongside him, frustrated.

"I thought you'd still be in your class with your students." he grumbled, "Leave the ghost hunting to me!" Caleb matched pace easily, shooting him an angry look.

"You obviously don't know what you're doing with **these** ghosts. So stick with your other prey." he shot back and smiled grimly, "And I got my test results back. Tell me, what kind of ghost still breathes and has a heartbeat?" Danny halted in shock, losing ground as both ghost and teacher left him behind. He flailed for a bit, then flew after them, hurrying to combat the ghost before anything went wrong.

"Okay, so you found out a couple of things about me that are strange in the world of ghosts. So what?" he griped to the redhead once he caught up. The idea that just one conversation with him had revealed that much was scary. How in the world did this teacher find out he could still breathe and have a heartbeat in ghost form when it takes special scanning equipment to figure that out? Sure his breathing as a ghost was minimal at best, barely detectable unless one was looking for it, and more often than not, Danny just stopped breathing altogether. It saved energy for battling. His heartbeat was faint and slow, enough to keep him 'alive' but not enough to alert anyone that he could be more than just a ghost.

"So, it makes me wonder more about this place, and about modern ghosts." Caleb answered easily and stopped as the ghost halted ahead of them and spun around, waving its arms. "Okay, there it goes. Now, unless you suddenly developed an innate Element or brought along that little soup can, get out of the way." the teacher growled and stood still, holding one hand over his heart and the other held out, index finger tracing out some quick symbol in the air.

A whistling sound was all Danny Phantom heard a split second before a missile slammed into the street, hurling him into the teacher and both of them onto the ground. He looked up, staring in shock as Valerie flew in on her hover board, aiming a large gun at him.

"I knew you'd show up and cause more trouble, Ghost Kid!" she yelled out angrily, "I'll deal with you after I get rid of this flying piece of laundry!" She turned the gun on the bedsheet ghost and fired the burst of plasma. It writhed in the light and exploded, the growing red circle beneath it vanishing along with the specter. Valerie thrust a fist into the air in victory. "Hah! Gotcha! That's one less spook terrorizing Amity Park!" she crowed and then spun around to aim at Danny, "And now to finish you off!"

"Wait! I don't want to fight!" Danny cried in alarm, scrambling backwards. There was a bit of movement and he blinked as Caleb stood before him, arms akimbo as he glared up at the flying ghost hunter.

"Valerie Gray! Put that down this instant and get down here!" he yelled. Danny blinked in shock as Valerie stepped back, startled. "Don't give me that whole 'I'm not who you think I am' story! I can tell by your voice who you are!" Caleb shouted, "Don't you dare interfere with me and my work again, or I'll make sure you get double homework tonight!" Danny gasped softly and stood, preparing to escape. The teacher turned to glare at him. "That goes for you, too, Phantom." he hissed softly, "Stay right there; I'm not done with you." He turned back to Valerie. "Get back to class, get out of that ridiculous outfit and think about what I've been trying to teach you! What you think is evil may not be at all and what you think is good may be the true darkness! Haven't you learned anything yet?"

"You talk a lot. I learned that." Valerie griped and flew off, "I'll get you next time, Ghost Boy!"

"Okay, thanks for scaring her off." Danny remarked in a rush, leaping into the air, "But I really have to get going now, so bye!"

"Move from that spot and I'll have your parents ground you, Fenton." Caleb growled, turning around to take in Danny's startled look, "I told you. I can tell from your voice who you are. The echo effect is nice for masking, but once I filter it out, it's as plain as day who you truly are." He smiled. "For the two of us, class is over. We have to talk." he added.

* * *

Sam arrived on the scene in time to see Caleb and Danny finish their conversation. From where she stood, she could clearly see the panic and horror on Danny's face. Whatever the teacher was saying to him was making him pale. She took a deep breath and raced to join them, yelling out for Danny to fly away.

"Leave him alone! He's just trying to protect the city!" she yelled and both Danny and Caleb turned to look at her.

"Sam! What are you doing here?" Danny exclaimed, grateful for a change of subject. He landed and stepped forward to meet her.

"Valerie flew past me while I was coming here, and I was worried about you getting splattered all over the place." she managed to keep more panic and concern out of her voice than was needed. She glanced over at the teacher. "It wouldn't be good for any of us if we lost the only ghost who is willing to help us keep other ghosts away." she added for his benefit. Danny sighed and placed his hands on her shoulders, shaking his head.

"Stop, Sam. It's not gonna work. He already knows." he told her softly. He smiled weakly at her startled expression. "He recognized my voice somehow. That's also why Valerie left. He yelled at her, called her by name and threatened extra homework if she didn't leave." he explained. He looked back at the older man. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Your influence seems rather spread." Caleb told him, "I'd like to speak with all those who know who you are as well, and are your allies. We'll return to the school, continue as normal, and meet on neutral ground afterwards. Say, the park?" Danny nodded. "Hey, don't worry. I'm safe." the teacher told him with a smile, "Your secret is safe and I'll tell your parents that we were having a study session if our talk takes too long."

* * *

The walk back to school was spent in silence, broken only by Caleb asking random questions about certain buildings and people. Sam watched him warily, still distrustful of the teacher. He only smiled as he chatted on about various places he wished to visit in Amity Park. Danny, now in human form again, walked between him and Sam, silent save for when he answered the random questions.

"I don't see why we should talk to you about anything when you're keeping secrets, too." Sam finally blurted as they reached the school. Casper High had recovered quickly from the ghost attack, something it had developed after so many months of constant encounters. Caleb sighed.

"Fine. I'll discuss some things about myself when we have our meeting." he relented, "Not everything, because I'm sure that will take nearly forever and you might not believe me anyway. So I'll just say what you can handle." Sam folded her arms over her chest, a challenging look on her face.

"Oh, you don't think, after all me and Danny and Tucker have been through, that we'd believe anything you have to say?" she asked, "Hah! Try me!" Caleb grinned at the challenge.

"Okay. You have your book with you, right?" he asked. Sam pulled it out. "Turn to chapter thirty-six." She opened the book, and flipped through the pages until she reached the proper chapter. "Turn it two more pages and check the image there." She did and gaped in shock. "Yeah. That's me. I just had a change of hairstyles recently, so it's not a perfect copy." Caleb told her with a grin. Danny lifted his eyes to see what Sam was staring at.

On the page was a group image of the would-be heroes Danny already recognized, along with several others that he didn't know yet. What caught his attention was the pair of twins that looked remarkably like Caleb. One of the red-haired men wore dark clothes, a look on his face that hinted at a flirtatious nature. The other wore a green outfit and trenchcoat and looked more humble and friendly. He blinked and looked up at Caleb, puzzled.

"I'm the one in green. The other one is Zelos Wilder; you'll learn about him in a few more chapters." the teacher explained.

"But... how...? Not... possible!" Sam stammered in confusion, eyes wide with disbelief. Caleb rolled his eyes.

"I told you, but did you listen? No. I'll tell you about it later! Let's get back to class!" he cried and hustled them back into the school.

* * *

The day went by in a sort of haze. Between knowing that the mythology teacher had discovered his secret identity and knowing that he somehow was a part of the ancient story they talked about in class, Danny didn't have enough sense left in him to think about what he was doing. It wasn't until Sam and Tucker were both dragging him by the arms through the halls to the exit that he recognized the day was done. He blinked as he spotted Jazz standing by the double doors with Caleb, a concerned look on her face.

"What's going on, Danny? Caleb told me in the hall that he wanted to talk to all of us together about something important." she asked him and blinked at Sam and Tucker, seeming to put something together in her mind as she tapped her cheek. Her eyes went wide.

"It's all right, Ms. Fenton." Caleb told her.

"Jazz." she corrected blindly, color draining from her face as fear crept into her eyes.

"Correction noted. Jazz, don't worry. I know about your brother, but that's only part of what I wanted to talk about." Caleb murmured softly, "Let's get to the park. The less ears around us, the better."

* * *

A section of the park was isolated, surrounded by trees and bushes, making it perfect for the secret meeting. Sam, Tucker, Danny, and Jazz sat on a fallen log, worried over what was going to happen. Caleb stood before them for a few minutes, watching them all.

"Before we start, does anyone else have anything to say about how I should call you? Corrections to my files need to be done before they become habit." he remarked. Tucker brightened at the words.

"You have us recorded in a computer somewhere?" he asked, "Oh, and just call me Tucker."

"Correction noted." Caleb remarked and smiled, "Um, sort of. I'll talk about that in a bit. Ms. Manson?"

"Sam." she answered, "Will you tell us about the guys with the pseudonyms?" Caleb sighed.

"Correction noted. I believe you already figured me out on that, Sam. Yes, I'm the only real person; the other two are just identities that I fill in now and then to keep questions from popping up. Yes, I am wealthy; yes, I wrote the books; no, I didn't let it get to my head."

"Danny. Just Danny." Danny sighed his name glumly. The teacher nodded.

"Correction noted. All right, now that we have that out of the way, I'd like to ask you all why it is that Danny here can alternate between ghost and human at will." he began and listened as the three younger teens launched into a shortened version of the story of the Fenton Ghost Portal, the accident that fused his DNA with ectoplasm, and his decision to use his new powers to protect Amity Park. As they talked, they watched as Caleb reached out and pressed his fingers to Danny's forehead lightly. "Fascinating. Even your mana seems as if it was altered by that accident." he murmured in surprise.

"My... what?" Danny asked in confusion, "What did you do?" Caleb smiled brightly.

"Tucker, you were right about me storing things in a computer. Remember what I said about prochaic technology?" he asked. Tucker nodded.

"Yeah, you said that it was technology built in the past that can endure and function all the way to modern times. The Sorcerer's Ring is an example of prochaic technology, but no evidence of it has been found recently." the dark-skinned boy answered and brightened, "You have a prochaic computer? Cool!" Caleb laughed.

"Not quite." he admitted, "_I'm_ the prochaic computer, of sorts." The group stared at him. "I'm an automated doll, an android in layman's terms. I was built during the age of Symphonia to help Lloyd and his friends rescue Zelos, and afterwards I decided to go on a journey to archive the history and the knowledge of the world." He held out his arms and closed his eyes. Danny and his friends watched in awe as the black outfit seemed to glow with a soft white light, shifting about on the man's body until the light faded and he stood before them in the same green outfit he wore in the book.

"Wow." Sam murmured in shock, "So that's why you're in charge of the Archives of the Twin Blades! You actually collected _all_ that information yourself?" Caleb nodded. "What about that whole billionaire thing?"

"I accumulated wealth from working several jobs and storing my pay in banks and bonds." he replied, "I just let it sit there for a few centuries. Once, I put the accumulated interest back into bonds, went overseas to archive Soviet history and by the time I got my nose out of the books, the Soviet Union had fallen, the Bay of Pigs was being invaded and I became one of the ten richest men in the world." He looked annoyed, "It was a pain to get my accounts straightened again. Bankers are so picky about details they have no reason to pick about."

"So you know my story and we sort of know yours. What are we doing here, but more importantly, why are _you_ here?" Danny asked seriously, standing up to face the teacher. Caleb bowed his head, then lifted it, an equally serious gaze on his face.

"I'm here because your city, and our world, is in serious danger of falling to darkness." he told the group of teens, "And if I don't stop an ancient relic that shouldn't have survived through the millions of years that have passed since Symphonia's era soon, everything we know and love will be destroyed."

"Ancient relic? There's an ancient relic in Amity Park that could drag the world into darkness?" Jazz asked in horror. Caleb nodded. Danny snapped his fingers.

"The King of the Underworld! He said he was going to bring the world into the land of the dead to join his kingdom!" he cried, "That must be how he's gonna do it!" Caleb shot him a look.

"King of the Underworld? Where did you hear about that?" he asked sharply.

"In the Amity Park Public Library nearby, there's a voice that calls itself the King of the Underworld. It set up an area around the building that no ghost can get through that I call the dead zone." Danny went on and sat down heavily, "It's freaked out some of the strongest ghosts in the Ghost Zone and even I can't get near it without getting hit by its vibes. I made the mistake of going ghost inside and that's when it spoke." Jazz turned to stare at him in disbelief.

"When was this?" she asked suspiciously, folding her arms over her chest. Danny shrugged.

"Couple nights ago. It wasn't pretty." he sighed and shook his head, "It was calling for the ghosts of Amity Park to join its army. As far as I know, they haven't fallen for it and they're staying in the Ghost Zone to keep away from it." He took on a fairly exasperated look. "Well, except for the Box Ghost, but I'm starting to think the others just boot him out to get some peace and give me some hell." With Jazz starting up a lecture on his wandering around near potentially dangerous objects, Sam and Tucker turned back to the mythology teacher for additional information on what they faced.

"So you know what this thing is that's messing with Danny and the other ghosts?" Sam demanded, "What is it? How do we get rid of it?"

"And does it involve using some really cool ancient technology?" Tucker added with an eager smile. Sam shot him a glare as the redhead shook his head with a sigh. He reached into a pocket and brought out a strangely intricate object of beaten brass and a shimmering material neither the Goth nor the techno-geek had ever seen before. He set it down on the grass and pulled a shining blue-white gem from another pocket, setting it within a space in the device. There was a click and a brilliant light shot up from the device, catching Jazz and Danny by surprise and ending their argument dead. Sam and Tucker only gasped softly and stepped back.

"In the age of Symphonia, just before the worlds were united, my friends encountered a cursed book in the Sybak library that was a gate to the Underworld. This book was draining life from around itself, entrapping humans and elves alike in order to gather strength to unleash its demons onto the world." Caleb told them, pointing up at the image in the light, "There were others like it, and most of them had been destroyed, but this one got stolen before it was burned. Lloyd and the Heroes of Union managed to locate and destroy that book. I had thought that it was the last of its kind, but within the past few months I learned otherwise."

The image Danny and his friends saw was of an eerily misty realm, with thousands of translucent platforms and paths suspended in the air in a staggered formation. It appeared to be of similar strangeness as the Ghost Zone, but unlike its population of doors and gates and ghosts, this realm was filled with demonic monsters and creatures the likes of which Danny had never seen before. Jazz lifted her hands to her mouth, eyes wide with horror. Sam cringed, backing away from the hologram and bumping into the raven-haired halfa behind her. Neither noticed the contact though the boy instinctively placed an arm around her shoulders in a comforting gesture.

"That is seriously creepy. So, it's a **book** that's causing all this?" Tucker asked quietly. Caleb nodded and the techno-geek looked down at the device. "What's that?"

"Data crystal reader. Another piece of prochaic technology and the most common one I use. It stores massive amounts of data in specially created crystals." the teacher replied, "The original Archive is comprised entirely of data crystals. The Archives the public has access to is edited for various reasons, both obvious and not." He rubbed his head and sighed. "I kind of control history as well as record it, to keep certain things from being known. Humanity isn't ready for the full truth of the world, so I just wait and watch."

"A book in the library. That's why no one could find anything." Danny murmured suddenly and turned to look back over his shoulder. "The Public Library is right nearby. We can go right now and destroy it!" Jazz shook her head clear of her stunned state and shot him a glare.

"Danny! No! If that Book is doing things like that to you in your ghost form, then I don't want you near it!" she yelled, "It's too dangerous! What if it brainwashes you or something? How do you expect us to deal with you then?"

"I agree with Jazz. I only alerted you to this because you, as Amity's protector, should know what's going on." Caleb added in sternly, "**I'll** handle the Book. You should stay out of ghost mode until it's been destroyed." He picked up the device and slipped it out of sight. "Now then, it's getting late and I should investigate that library. I'll drop you all off at your homes and provide your families with excuses." With that, he headed out of the copse of trees, clothes glowing brilliant white as they returned to the Goth-like black outfit he wore that day.

* * *

Dropping Sam and Tucker off with the pretense of being in a late study session was easy enough. The Mansons were delighted with the idea that their daughter was finally 'shaping up' and the Foleys weren't surprised to find their son in the care of another technophile. The Fentons were another story however.

Upon entering the house, Caleb was assailed with a barrage of questions from the jumpsuit-wearing couple in the front hall. From demanding where the kids had been for so long to wanting to know if ghosts were involved in any way, the attack of questions went on with rapid-fire accuracy and relentlessness. Danny's eyes crossed at the idea of having to come up with answers to each one that would satisfy his parents without giving away too much information. Jazz looked pale, head slowly tilting as her brain seemed to just fizzle out at the thoughts. Their teacher, however, quite smoothly answered each question with a well-crafted lie and half-truth. In the end, he won over both Jack and Maddie Fenton, exchanged casserole recipes and told both adults that their children were doing quite well in a class that wasn't as strict as normal classes.

"Well, as long as Danny keeps his grades up in your class, I suppose it'll be all right to let him be in your study group." Maddie remarked carefully, eyeing the group before her through the red-tinted lenses of her jumpsuit's hood. She tapped her husband on the shoulder, reaching up to make the contact, in order to regain his attention. "C'mon, Jack, we have work to do!"

"That's right! The Fenton Spook Sleeper's almost done! Then we can make all those ghosts fall asleep on the spot so we can rip 'em apart easier!" the large man declared with child-like glee before racing for the basement steps and disappearing down them far faster than any man his size should be able to move. Caleb glanced down at his students and lifted an eyebrow at Danny's paling face.

"I really wish they wouldn't say stuff like that. I always end up with nightmares I really don't need." he muttered as his mother hurried after Jack to prevent yet another explosion.

"This is where we part ways for the night." Caleb remarked softly, "I think our interview should be rescheduled for another night. For now, that library must be investigated." He regarded the direction in which the older Fentons had run off in and tilted his head thoughtfully. "I don't suppose your family has network access to whatever setup is in their home lab for configuring weapons?" Jazz nodded slowly, uncertain of what he meant by that. The teacher only smiled and clapped his hands together. "Perfect! Then I'll gather data on the ghosts from them; it'll save me the trouble of having to actually meet them myself for now."

"You might want to use _my_ records. My parents don't really know what they're doing when it comes to half the ghosts I fought." Danny added under his breath, "They try, but it'll be a while before they get the idea of what's really going on." Caleb only shook his head, still smiling, then left, allowing both Fenton children to head to the kitchen for a quick meal before bed, thoughts of an ancient evil relic in their town still whirling in their minds.

* * *

As it was with Danny in either human or ghost form, his stubborn streak refused to let him just sit on the sidelines as the fate of the world was decided by an archaic robot and an evil book. Only an hour after wrestling with his conscience, he jumped out of bed and headed for the window, staring out in the direction of the forbidden library. That Book, the Gate to the Underworld, was going to try to swallow up the living world, and he was told that he couldn't help.

"No way. I'm not just gonna stand here as some stupid book takes over the world!" Danny muttered and leaped out the open window, transforming to ghost mode in mid-air and taking to the skies. He raced towards the library, determined to make a stand of his own against this new darkness.

Amity Park's skies were normally full of stars and the occasional clouds, like any other sky in the world. Tonight, however, there was the burst of a brilliant white light not far ahead of him. Danny scowled; there was a fight going on and he wasn't in it. Whether he liked it or not, Caleb was going to have some help in the form of Danny Phantom!

He dove down towards the library, fully confident in his abilities to aid in whatever battle was going on, only to yell out in shock and lift his arms protectively, forming a small ectoplasmic shield to block a barrage of fireballs that went soaring up to him. Though it seemed as though the magical attack had missed him, a second burst of the light went off and he fell, blinded by light from that strange whiteness and the fire. Slamming into asphalt, Danny gasped painfully and scrambled to his feet, squinting into the brightness around him. When the light finally faded, he blinked in surprise.

Dozens of bedsheet ghosts, white and now yellow ones, filled the air between the library and Caleb, who looked back at him with an angry frown. Danny took to the air again, gathering ectoplasmic energy into his hands. The green-clad android leaped back gracefully from the cluster of ghosts to stand by him, the scowl never leaving his face.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he hissed, holding a strange weapon in his hands. Danny glanced at it and both eyebrows shot up in surprise. Was that... a giant fork? Wood handle, metal prongs and all? "I told you to stay out of this; you don't know what you're doing!" the teacher went on in frustration, "I can't deal with these guys if you're in the area! Get out of here!"

"I've been doing this for months now! I'll be just fine!" Danny shot back and fired the Ghost Ray at several of the ghosts now scattering about to surround the both of them. The ones that were hit dropped to the ground, stunned. Danny grinned in victory, then yelped as he was attacked from behind by a small flurry of hammers. Spinning, he fired several more bursts of ectoplasm, watching the spinning dome of ghosts begin to close in on them. "What are they doing?" he cried as Caleb stood still, watching as well.

"New trick they learned over the last thousand or so years." he remarked and glanced aside at the young halfa, "Your few months of battling modern ghosts means nothing compared to my thousands of years of combating everything the forces of evil has set loose upon the world." Danny stared at him and Caleb grinned, but it was nowhere near as kind as his previous smiles. "Remember what I said about half-breeds being either the worst villains or the greatest heroes the world could ever know? Well, here's a lesson on the use of mana, as only the most powerful half-breed of his era could use!" he declared, a circle of light spinning into existence at his feet, _"I call upon thee in the land of the dead to unleash thy fury of thunder! Indignation!"_

A field of violet light bloomed below the shrinking dome of ghosts as shimmering rays of an energy Danny had never seen before spiraled up over the ghosts to form a second dome. Then, without warning, there was a blast of light so bright it blinded him instantly, followed by a clap of thunder that dazed him. He fell to the ground, stunned by the attack. For several long moments, there was nothing; no sounds of anything, no sensing of anything moving.

Finally, his vision returned and Danny picked himself up slowly, head still pounding from the thunderclap, haz-mat suit slightly smoking. Running one hand through his hair, he felt sparks of electricity jump about. Turning his attention outward, he saw the dome of ghosts had disappeared. Caleb stood calmly where he had been before the blast of energy went off. He turned his head to look coldly down at the half.

"See? You can't even cast _Fireball_, a novice spell; what makes you think you can use ectoplasm against ghosts and monsters that still use mana as their source of power?" he asked and turned his back on Danny, "Go home and stay out of this battle. You'll die if you attempt to face the higher level monstrosities on your own."

"**What?** I can handle myself! Just because you can do the same thing those ghosts can, it doesn't mean you're better than me! It doesn't mean that you still don't need help!" Danny shouted back, "I was doing fine until they cheated!" He fell silent, hovering several inches above the ground. "So, what _was_ that that you did?" he asked quietly.

"A spell, a potent Electric-based spell." Caleb returned, "I'm a prototype artificial mage, so I can use mana to cast magic. It's also the power source I run off of, and since mana is everywhere, I never need to 'plug' myself into an external power supply." He grinned and this time it was the same as his normal smiles. "Helps the illusion of me being human." He shifted on his feet and sighed harshly. "The Book isn't here anymore. It was moved and there weren't any records anywhere of where it could be now." Caleb added and waved a hand around, "I suppose those ghosts were sent to this world to gather more victims for the Book, but when they could no longer find the gate, they just milled about here."

"If it's not here, then the ghosts from the Ghost Zone might start re-emerging." Danny muttered, "It's the threat of that Book that kept them there, but now what?" Caleb shrugged and turned to leave. "Hey! Where are you going? What about the Book?" Danny shouted in frustration once he realized the teacher was walking away, "It's that thing's fault people think the ghosts are crazier than normal! Me included!" He waved his arms emphatically. "Aren't you going to do something about it? Or at least help me explain to these people what's going on so they don't try to shoot me all the time?"

"That's your problem. Not mine. Once I have the data I want, I'm leaving." Caleb shot back, shouldering the unusually large utensil, "Modern ghosts don't fall in my jurisdiction, and as long as they don't threaten the world, and thus my archival mission, then I have no quarrels with them." Danny stared at him in shock, then scowled.

"I thought you were a hero." he hissed. Caleb stopped suddenly, then shook his head slightly.

"You thought wrong, then. I wasn't built to be a Hero." the teacher replied dully. Danny took to the air once more, glaring down at the redhead.

"I wasn't born a hero, but I chose to be one when ghosts began coming through my parents' portal. It was my fault the portal activated and let them through, so it's my responsibility." he growled, "I never wanted to be the hero, but I knew something had to be done. It's the right thing to do."

"Gentle Idealist, your words bring hope to the darkness of the world." Caleb recited half-heartedly, "Be the Hero, Phantom; I'll have no part of it. I'm done with dealing with Heroes." With that he turned and threw something onto the ground that emitted a flash of light that blinded the halfa once again. When Danny's vision returned, the teacher was gone.

"Jerk." Danny grumbled and flew on, determined to find the Book himself. If it was still in Amity Park, then he could find it just by letting the voice in it call to him. A dangerous way of locating the relic, but it was all Danny could think of to pinpoint it.

* * *

Sam woke to the sound of tapping at her window and growled, folding her pillow over to hide her ears as she cracked open one eye to peek at her clock. Four in the morning; well, at least she had gotten one extra hour of sleep before Ghost Boy decided to pay a visit. The tap came again, a little more slowly this time, and she finally got out of bed to let him in.

"Much as I enjoy the late-night attention, why can't you go bother Tucker at four a.m.?" the Goth grumbled as Danny flew in and flopped onto her bed, limbs splayed out carelessly.

"He sleeps like the dead and his snoring wakes 'em. Bad combo." the halfa replied lazily, "That Book's gone. I searched all the libraries of Amity, but it's just up and disappeared." Sam lifted an eyebrow as she pulled up a chair for herself.

"That's good, right? No Book of the Underworld, no problems for you in your ghost mode. Which you're still in, by the way." she replied.

"Too tired to change. Gimme a minute."

Sam waited the minute but all the boy did was collect his limbs and turn on his side to better see her. For a moment, it looked to her like he was getting settled in, but his shifting stopped and he gave a little shrug. There was no attempt to return to Danny Fenton form. Sam gave him another look and the halfa yawned.

"In a minute." he managed to say.

"Ugh! Fine. So what happened? Why did the Book vanish? Wasn't Caleb supposed to go to the library to destroy it?" Sam griped, throwing her hands up in defeat. Phantom or Fenton, Danny could be so exasperating at times! He only gave another shrug and made a face.

"It was gone by the time he got there. Said so himself. There were a bunch of those weird bedsheet ghosts hanging around the place, and I was gonna jump in to help him get rid of 'em, but he yelled a bunch of stupid stuff and the next thing I know, I'm kissing the street and the ghosts are gone." he complained, "He said he used magic on 'em and then said he was gonna finish collecting the data we had on ghosts before leaving Amity." Sam blinked in confusion.

"A robot using magic? How? And why is he leaving Amity already? What about the Book?" she blurted out, "What about the other ghosts? If they find out it's gone, they're all gonna start coming back even worse than before!" She watched the halfa sigh harshly as he threaded his hands behind his head.

"In a nutshell, Caleb runs off of mana, so he can use it however he likes, including cast some really showy spells. Since the Book was moved and there weren't any records of it, he's assuming it's no longer in Amity Park. So there's no point being here. And because 'modern' ghosts aren't his problem, he's not gonna bother helping me do something about the crap that's gonna hit the fan soon about this." he grumbled, "The jerk. If I had any respect for the guy, it's gone now." He waved one hand around in the air before sliding it back under his head. "I searched every library in Amity Park, trying to see if it was still hiding out here, but I got nothing. It's gone and probably still trying to take over the world."

"What about that mythology class? Isn't Caleb gonna finish teaching that? If he leaves now, it'll bring up too many questions. Not even a rich robot can talk his way out of a city and state investigation if he just abandons it!" Sam pointed out incredulously. Danny merely closed his eyes and shrugged again. The Goth folded her arms over her chest, thinking carefully. "He wants data on modern ghosts, even though he can handle ancient ghosts just fine. That Book of the Underworld is a gate where all these old monsters and ghosts come from. The king there wants to recruit modern ghosts in his takeover, but why would he do that if he already has so many ghosts and monsters of his own?" she murmured and frowned, "Hmm, Caleb doesn't know about modern ghosts at all. Could it be that the King of the Underworld is recruiting modern ghosts because it knows that Caleb can't deal with them? Is that why he sent those other ghosts to attack him, to keep him from learning about modern ghosts?" She got up and began pacing, her thoughts spinning in her head.

Caleb had been built during the time the ancient ghosts were the only ghosts around, and they were easy to get rid of as long as someone had Light element magic to hit them with. Being a robot that could use magic, he could easily wipe out large numbers of them by himself. But time passed on and Caleb spent time archiving knowledge and data without doing any actual research of his own. So ghosts evolved, but Caleb didn't. If he tried to fight a ghost now, he'd probably lose, and badly too. It was even possible that his magic was now useless against 'modern' ghosts. That would give him more reason to gain access to the Fenton Family's data; not only would they have information about modern ghosts, but they saved the blueprints and schematics to all their ghost-hunting equipment in the Fenton Mainframe. Caleb could copy that and recreate the weapons for his own use. He couldn't afford to leave Amity until he had all of that; therefore, he would have to continue the class until he finished stealing the information.

And it _was_ stealing in her mind, because Caleb was just using Danny to get new upgrades for himself. So much for him being someone trustworthy. Sam growled silently to herself for falling for the trick, then turned to say as much to her friend.

Danny, still in ghost mode despite promising to change once he had the strength for it, had fallen asleep on her bed.

She stared for a few moments, then shook her head, a blush creeping over her face. What a dilemma to face so early in the morning; let him sleep to catch up on needed rest and have a very embarrassing time in just two hours, or boot him out and watch him suffer through classes later in the day? Sam bit her lip, thinking it over as the halfa curled up protectively on one side of the bed, snuggling against the pillows piled there. The white ring appeared at waist level, now vertical to compensate for his lying position, but only spun in place, as if unsure whether to complete the transformation or not. Finally, it split in twain, traveling along him until he was back to human state, dressed in shorts and a white muscle shirt for the warm night.

"Oh, for crying out loud! You're no help!" Sam hissed at the ring as it faded away. Danny mumbled something and she clamped her mouth shut, afraid that he might wake up in a panic. When he stilled again, she relaxed and tilted her head, baffled. What could she do? If he was deep enough asleep that a soft sound didn't wake him, then if she tried to kick him out of the house he'd only freak out and bring the wrath of her parents down on them both. Yet, she couldn't just leave him here; if her parents learned of it in the morning, just a short two hours away, only a miracle would be able to repair the damage _that_ shock would cause. Besides... where would _she_ sleep?

Sam puzzled it over a few minutes more, then threw up her hands in exasperation. She couldn't throw him out; not when he needed rest after all he'd been through that night. And she was too tired after all the thinking and pacing to care about her own sleep needs. She'd just get in bed, try her best to ignore the halfa, and get back to sleep. Screw the 'rents.

Just to be safe, Sam locked her bedroom door and made sure she left plenty of space between the raven-haired boy sleeping on top of the covers and herself as she crawled underneath the blankets. The blush never left her face the rest of the night.

* * *

The thing to remember about Danny, Sam realized all too late for it to be useful, was that he _always_ panicked. And when Danny panics, hell always breaks loose. Eighty percent of the time it happened, he'd get hit with it at full strength. Sometimes, and it had been happening more often in recent weeks, he'd manage to slip by without harm.

Sam thanked God this was one of those times.

It began with her radio alarm going off to the sound of punk rock music. The first slams of electric guitar and bass sent Danny shooting into the ceiling, literally, with a shriek. This, of course, snapped Sam awake as she screamed along in surprise. When each finally saw the other in disheveled bedclothes, they screamed again, with Sam dragging her blankets up to hide her reddened face and Danny immediately going invisible on the spot.

The screams brought the Mansons straight to Sam's door and they began pounding on it, demanding to be let in. Sam pulled her blankets down, staring at the spot where she last saw her friend, but there was nothing. Only the curtains that draped over her window flapped gently, and she knew her windows were shut.

_'Must have flown the coop.'_ she thought dimly, before putting together a quick story and opening her bedroom door. "Sorry! My radio scared me!" she laughed forcefully, "There really isn't anything wrong, so just go on down to breakfast and I'll, uh, join you later!"

"Samantha Manson! Did we hear a boy's voice in your room?" her mother yelled through the door.

"Radio! It's the radio!" Sam yelled back and threw open the door, "See? There's no _boy_!" She watched distastefully as her parents swarmed in, and rolled her eyes as they satisfied themselves with the sight of an empty room. "And then they say _I'm_ not normal." she grumbled under her breath as she ushered them out the door. After a minute, Sam turned back to her open room. "Danny?" she called out softly, but there was no answer.

She changed in the closet, just to be safe.


	5. Chapter 5

5

Much of the day at school was spent in confusion. The whole of Casper High seemed to be on edge, and Danny had not shown up at all. Sam and Tucker wandered the halls between classes, searching for him, but there was neither hide nor hair of the halfa to be found on the campus. Mr. Lancer had been testy during English class.

"_Fall of the House of Usher!_ Half the class has gone missing! Is there some kind of mass sit-out I wasn't warned about today?" he demanded of the handful of teens that blinked back at him with puzzled expressions. "I'm going to be busy enough grading papers; I don't have time to call every single vagrant's parents about this travesty!"

"Where's Danny?" Tucker sighed again, "Then he could make us invisible and we'd sneak out of here to find that Book." Sam shrugged. She had told him what had taken place that night, making sure to change her story so that Danny had left after making the report. Tucker didn't need more ammunition against her and the halfa.

And what Mr. Lancer had said seemed true. There were far fewer students crowding the halls that day. Many familiar faces had gone missing, Dash and Kwan among them. Paulina and Star looked faintly fearful, though the Latina insisted that she'd be all right as long as the Ghost Boy could reach her. Jazz paced by Danny's locker nervously as Sam and Tucker reached it.

"Have either of you seen Danny? He left this morning to come here, but I haven't seen him in school at all!" the carrot-top blurted out to them in a low voice, "He was acting kinda weird this morning. Did something happen to him last night?" Sam and Tucker glanced at each other. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't have given Jazz any information on what Danny talked about unless the halfa said it was all right to share it. But with the resident half-ghost hero gone missing, rules were suspended once more.

"He tried to help Caleb find that Book, but it sounded like they got in an argument and the Book had disappeared before any of them could do anything about it." Tucker remarked. Sam nodded in agreement.

"And Caleb said that since there's no record of it being moved, he has no choice but to leave Amity to figure out where it could have gone. But if he still wants ghost data, he can't move on until he copies the information from the Fenton Mainframe." she put in and scowled, "Which reminds me. You'd better hurry and disconnect it from the Internet soon. He might try hacking in through there to get the data and we need to keep that robot around until we figure out what all he's really after."

"The Book's vanished, Danny's gone missing... and Caleb's gone, too. He wasn't teaching class today. We had a substitute." Jazz murmured worriedly, "If he and Danny had a fight about that Book, and now all three of them are gone, what are the odds that at least two of them will meet and have the whole thing get ugly really fast?" They watched as another student raced past them in a panic.

"It's the end of the world! People are disappearing and the walls are talking! The end is near!" he wailed, arms flailing wildly as he dashed down the hall and around the corner.

"It's getting ugly here already. Wherever Danny and Caleb are, it's bound to be better than this hell-hole." Sam grumbled, "So is the substitute another robot?" Jazz shrugged.

"Dunno, he dresses funny." she replied and turned, "C'mon. Normally, I wouldn't dream of skipping class, but for Danny's sake, we have to focus on finding him first!" The trio raced for the mythology classroom.

* * *

Jazz had been right about the substitute teacher. A blonde whose short hair was swept aside to hide one eye and dressed in archaic green clothes with brass buttons and thick leather shoes, the stand-in for the mythology teacher gave them a cursory look over and frowned.

"Jazz Fenton, your class was completed. Please leave." he told her curtly, "Sam Manson, Tucker Foley, your class is not scheduled for this time. Please return to your scheduled class for this time frame."

"Talks like a robot." Tucker muttered under his breath, pulling out his PDA, "And doesn't sound as advanced as Caleb. I bet I can hack it and get some info out of it."

"I'm standing right here, you know." the blonde growled, "And don't even try to hack into my system. Your technology and mine are incompatible. Your PDA would fry before it could even access my external personality core."

"It could use some tweaking." Sam shot back, "Where's Caleb and Danny? What are they doing about this book thing?" The blonde waved a hand dismissively, his visible blue eye glittering angrily.

"Caleb is still trying to locate the Book of the Underworld, and now believes it's still here in Amity Park. Look around you. People have begun disappearing." the substitute told them, "The Book is kidnapping them to gather strength. That's why there were so many ghosts at public library last night. Caleb discovered too late that they had taken random victims that night to feed the darkness in the Book, and it was relocated to hide its efforts from him."

"What about Danny?" Tucker pointed out, "He was looking for the Book too! What if it kidnapped him?" The blonde shook his head.

"Given the information Caleb input into me for the duration of this day, it's highly unlikely that your friend was taken by the Book. If that was the case, then he'd already be under the Niflheim King's command, the first being the destruction of Caleb, then the recruitment of the modern ghosts available." he replied calmly, "I've not received the signal of Caleb's shutdown, so he's still active. Therefore, Danny is still free. Just not in school." Sam pulled her textbook from her backpack and set it on the table, flipping through pages as Jazz and Tucker continued trying to get more information from the substitute. Other students entered the classroom, too much in a state of shock to register what they were doing as they sat in their seats. No one made any attempt to protest at the change of teachers, the fact that they still had to attend class despite the obvious end of the world, and the idea that the end was coming at all.

After several more minutes flipping pages, Sam found what she was looking for. The story of the Book of the Underworld that Caleb had told them about the previous day, the one that the Heroes of Symphonia had vanquished. She studied the section carefully, then began reading it aloud.

"'And it was that the stolen Book of the Underworld, Niflheim, was found in the library of Sybak, the City of Universities. With the precious Soul Stone from Vinhelm in his hand and the warnings of his protector, Origin, in his ears, Lloyd Irving Aurion entered the accursed Book with his companions to defeat the vile evil that lurked within.'" she declared and the class lifted their gazes to stare at her in wonder. The blonde turned to look at her as well, a strange expression on his face as Jazz and Tucker fell silent, staring. "'The ascending King mocked the Eternal Swordsman and bade him to go forth into the depths of the gate of the Underworld, to meet his doom and set free upon the world the wrath of a thousand nightmares. Confident in the strength and purity of himself and his companions, Lloyd met the challenge with the burning flame of the Soulfire, now a mere candle of hope in the darkness of the Underworld.'

"'As the heroes ventured forth to vanquish the monstrosities that came for them in the mist and fog of evil, the flame grew ever brighter and more powerful, fueled by the light of the pure life within each Hero. The Soulfire beat back the darkness with the gate's own torches of despair, consuming the foul Book page by page until the Heroes reached the heart of the Underworld Gate. And there they lay upon the rising King, who mocked Lloyd once more. With Living Armor gouging the very battlefield and Heroes battling fiercely to keep their lives and the Soulfire lit, the Gate shook from the power and all knew the end for one or the other was nigh.'

"'At last, the fell King was laid low by the blessed blades of the Eternal Swordsman, but again he mocked him. 'This Book shall not rest until the world has been made mine. Your quest to end my reign ends in mere futility!' he declared to the young man before silence grasped his undead voice. Determined to make those words ring false, Lloyd took the Soulfire that had grown vastly since their first steps and set it to burn on the altar that appeared before him. The power of the Eternal Sword and the King of Summon Spirits, Origin, did pull the Heroes from the destruction of the Book of the Underworld and they did watch with their own eyes as all that remained of the evil relic was but ash and soot.'"

Sam finished the story and blinked as the class erupted in applause, cheering her on for such a dramatic delivery of the myth. Tucker gave a low whistle and Jazz's hand covered her mouth, eyes wide with surprise. The blonde standing by them smiled at last, a small gentle grin that seemed to inspire warmth and kindness in the Goth.

"Good story. All right. I'll tell you what I can." he finally murmured and turned to the class, "You got a good treat today! I'm your substitute for the time being, Adam Voraci, as Caleb is involved in some rather important Archive business today. Since you just heard a story from the later chapters of your textbook, your assignment for now will be to write a report on what you believe the Soulfire and the Altar of Darkness signifies. It's due at the end of the week." With the students distracted by that, he turned back to the trio standing behind him. "As for the three of you, that story is being played out again right here in Amity. The Book is trying to take over the world, yes. It's trying to recruit modern ghosts, yes. Now here's where it gets a bit sticky." he told them quickly.

"Several centuries ago, Caleb found a second Soul Stone in Japan, but had no use for it. So he gave it to a family here in America for safekeeping. When he learned that another of the Books of the Underworld survived the burning during Symphonia, and escaped Lloyd's notice, he took action to locate it. Once Caleb discovered that the Book was in this town, he set up an address and had the family send the stone to it." Adam went on, "But the stone hasn't arrived yet; that's why he didn't leave when he thought the Book had left the city. Once he gets that stone and finds the Book again, Caleb plans on entering the gate and using the Soulfire to burn it before it can recruit modern ghosts to its cause."

"Why? Is it because Caleb doesn't know how to fight modern ghosts?" Sam asked. The blonde nodded.

"He ran several tests on the data he gathered on Danny Phantom and learned that the type of energy sustaining ghosts in this modern age is far different from mana. Magic and mana won't affect ectoplasm, so Caleb would be powerless against ghosts who use ectoplasmic energy." Adam replied in a hushed tone, "The only reason Danny has the potential to be affected by Caleb's magic is because he is half-ghost, running on both mana and ectoplasm. Even in ghost mode, he is using mana in a more subtle form."

"And this King of the Underworld knows that Caleb can't defeat modern ghosts? How?" Jazz questioned, "And why is it going after Danny if Danny's using mana too? Won't that just defeat the purpose of having a modern ghost on the team?" Adam shrugged.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have that information. I do know that Caleb is doing a systematic search of the libraries in Amity, one by one, but it takes him at least an hour to search each one with the equipment he has." the blonde answered. "As for Danny's location, I can only assume that, if he's as intent on locating the Book as Caleb is, then he must also be searching the libraries."

"But he did the search last night! He said he didn't find anything." Sam protested. The blonde shrugged again, a helpless expression on his face.

"I don't know. Perhaps he's trying again to see if he missed anything?" he mumbled, "I can't provide information I don't have. Unlike Caleb, I can't really think for myself, so I can't provide opinions or thoughts of my own, only logical conclusions from the data I have in my systems.."

"Whoever built Caleb didn't do so good a job on you, then." Tucker griped, "Did they use store-bought parts, too? Junk from Radio Shack?" Adam made a face.

"That's an insult, correct? I should be resentful of that. Caleb built me, and Master Altessa built Caleb. So far, Caleb's craftsmanship has done well." the blonde griped, "I've lasted three hundred years myself and have only needed four major repairs. Now, I've told you all I can. Please leave the classroom. Either go back to your own classes, or go find Danny. Either way, I'm done." With that, he turned and sat at the desk, reading what appeared to be a recipe book left open before him. The three teens left the room, frowning at the information they got.

"Well, now we know that Caleb isn't going anywhere whether or not he gets Danny's list of ghost data. He needs that stone to destroy the Book." Jazz summed up, "So in the meantime, he's searching Amity one more time to find it again."

"Danny was in ghost form when he showed up at my house, and he wouldn't change out of it the whole time he was there. Maybe he found the Book and it did something to him?" Sam murmured to herself and let her mind drift back to that night. She had had a strangely heavy feeling settle on her chest briefly, long enough to force her awake so she could try to breathe again. It faded after a few minutes and she went back to sleep. Shortly after that, Danny arrived at her window, tapping weakly at the glass. "But it didn't really change him; his eyes were still green and his aura was still white. It could be that he's not looking for the Book anymore, but trying to avoid it."

"Yeah! That's right! The Book's influence gets stronger when it takes in victims, right?" Tucker exclaimed brightly, "So when it kidnapped a bunch of the students from this school, it was probably stronger than Danny could handle in either ghost or human form! So he's trying to lay low to escape it until he can find a way around it or Caleb destroys it!"

"But how do we find him?" Sam asked. Jazz dug into her purse and brought out a metallic boomerang, a light in its center a dull red color.

"With this. It's locked onto his ecto-signature still. Remember?" she remarked with a smile. Tucker reached into his pocket, pulled out a small chip and fixed it to the underside of the device.

"And with this GPS-tracking device, we can find the boomerang and Danny together!" he declared and flicked on his PDA, tapping buttons to start the tracking system.

"Well, the Boooo-merang _does_ tend to be erratic. I have my car. Let's let this thing loose and see where it takes us!" she cheered and they raced for the exit, unnoticed among the dozens of other students racing about in a panic over 'voices in the air'.

* * *

Danny sat back against the rough old oak log that had served as a seat during the first park meeting with Caleb. For the first time since that morning, he breathed a sigh of relief. The voice was too far, too faint, to bother him now. He frowned slightly, gazing up at the sky overhead as he rested.

It wasn't fair. Just when he thought he had an edge, it got taken away from him. As long as he was human, the King of the Underworld had no power over him. But things changed, and he felt it the minute he walked into the school. It blasted him with demands, commands, rantings and ravings that nearly drove him insane. Instinct told him to run and he obeyed that, racing from Casper High until he felt safe to fly and took to the skies for refuge. When paranoia made flying feel unsafe, he dove for the park and returned to human form, hiding in the copse of trees and turning invisible whenever it seemed people were passing too close to him.

_"You of the souls of the land of the living, submit to thine destiny of eternal servitude to me!"_ the voice of the King of the Underworld had declared moments before Danny bolted for the doors. He puzzled over it.

"First it calls me one of the line of the dead, now it's calling me one of the land of the living." he muttered, "Can't he make up his mind on what to call me?" At least now he knew where the Book had hidden itself. Surely Caleb would spot it in the school library, get rid of it, then leave so things could go back to what passed for normal in Amity.

Danny sighed again, then thought back to the events of the prior night, blushing as it led to the embarrassing moments of that early morning. He hadn't meant to fall asleep on Sam's bed. The blast of whatever it was that Caleb set off to get rid of the ghosts had knocked the wind out of him, then add to that the frantic searching of nearly every library in Amity, and you got a very sleepy halfa. He was more shocked that Sam had let him sleep in the same bed as her more than the fact that he had fallen asleep at all. To save them both from her parents' wrath, Danny had gone ghost and flown invisibly out the window towards his own house. The embarrassment clung to him all that morning, as did a strangely warm feeling that he needed time to wonder over, so he declined a ride from his sister and decided against seeking out his friends. Once he reached the school doors, the feeling was replaced by the shock of cold and despair that was hauntingly familiar. Then the voice came and Danny fled. In all, it was a crappy start to the day.

He blinked as a wisp of visible breath escaped his mouth, a sudden chill passing over him. Danny sat up and scanned the area, then looked up, yelping as a pair of his spectral enemies passed overhead, chasing after what looked like a strange, metal bird. "Oh, great, that's Desiree and Technus at the same time." he sighed, calling up the ring of white that transformed him into his ghostly form. "What the heck are they chasing?" he murmured to himself as he flew up to follow them.

* * *

"The King of the Underworld is going to make wishes for all ghosts come true! I'll finally become powerful enough to rule the Ghost Zone!" the Arabian enchantress laughed cruelly, "Just give it up, you old fool!" Alongside her flew the self-proclaimed master of technology, his grin eternally spread on his face as his eyes glowed behind round sunglasses.

"Heh heh! And I, Technus, master of _all_ things computerized and technological, will rule the electronic world forever! You're just a robot!" he crowed, "I can take possession of you any time I want!" Caleb glared over his shoulder as he gripped the handles of the flying machine he rode on all the tighter.

"I'd like to see you try." he growled, "Magic can't touch you, so neither can you touch me!" He reached into his jacket, then pulled out a small handgun crafted of silver and adorned with small gems, aiming it for the closer of the ghosts, Desiree. "Back off!" He opened fire, shooting several bursts of light that only passed through the ghost as she laughed at his startled expression.

"You see? You're _completely_ powerless against us! And once Nebilim is reborn, the world will be consumed by the land of the dead!" Desiree declared, "We win! And nothing can stop us! Especially not **you**!" Caleb stared at the gun in his hand.

"Not even Lens technology hurts them! Now what do I do?" he murmured fearfully and cried in alarm as Desiree hurled a blast of ghost power at his flying machine, slamming into the main body of the bird-like vehicle. There was a small explosion and the redhead began to lose altitude, falling rapidly from the sky as the machine spiraled out of control.

"Gee, forgot about me already?" Danny asked mockingly as he shot after the two ghosts, catching up to their flight and firing a blast of ectoplasm at each of them, "I'm kinda hurt here, guys; I mean, we've duked it out for months now and suddenly you find someone else to call your rival? I should so call Jerry Springer about this." Technus ducked the blast and grinned wider, adjusting his glasses as his free hand crackled with electric energy.

"Oh, we didn't forget about you, Ghost Kid! We've got plans for you too! Just not as _smashing_ as what we did to that piece of ancient history down there!" he sneered, watching Danny blink and look down at the smoking wreckage that trailed along the street below him. "The King of the Underworld's gonna be happy to hear that we've gotten rid of that pain in the side for good!" Desiree flew in behind Danny, her hands held up over him as she flicked her fingers quickly. She smiled icily.

"He deserved it, you know. Something like him had no right to exist as long as he did." she purred, glancing at Technus and giving a slight nod. The male ghost responded with a wider smile.

"Something like him? You mean, that was Caleb?" Danny murmured in horror, staring down at the flames and rubble that began attracting the attention of local police and fire departments.

"**Was** being the operative word." Technus snickered with a shrug, "What can I say? He was obsolete now that we're on Nebilim's side!" Danny shook his head, glaring at the ghost before him.

"When the hell did _that_ happen? How did you get brainwashed by that voice?" he demanded angrily. He'd avenge the teacher later; right now, he needed to know exactly how strong the King of the Underworld had become.

"It started with the Box Ghost, of course. We muscled him out to see if that thing in the library was gone and when he returned to say it was, I decided to take a look for myself, maybe grant some wishes while I was at it." Desiree revealed gleefully, running one finger down the teen's back and making him jump in alarm. He whirled around and backed away from her as she continued. "And when I passed over your school to get started, the voice called to me again and I knew that Nebilim would set us all free of these wretched humans! He wished for a modern ghost who was best suited to get rid of a robot pain, so I brought Technus!" Desiree concluded with a cruel smile.

"Now that he's gone, we only have to bring you to Nebilim!" Technus declared and threw a hand forward as a half-dozen of the bedsheet ghosts Danny was growing familiar with spun into view, all wielding hammers in their hands. "Whittle him down, my lovelies! We'll handle the rest!" he commanded and threw a blast of electricity to start the attack. The halfa yelped and shot up out of the line of fire, too intent on avoiding fireballs and electric bursts to notice Desiree shrieking angrily at the first attack that hit her, her long black hair sizzling with static.

"Watch where you're aiming, you idiot!" she snapped and held out her hands to add her own arsenal of spells to the onslaught.

Between turning intangible to escape fireballs and trading hits with Technus, Danny was quickly tiring from the constant shifts of ghost powers. He threw both hands forward in a doubly powerful plasma blast that knocked Desiree out of the battle for a short time, then cried painfully as the few precious moments he was still for the shot gave the ancient ghosts time to assail him with fireballs. He threw up a shield for protection, curling up as a bubble of green ectoplasm surrounded his body, shining brightly as it shattered and flew outwards in pieces to slam away the two modern ghosts and stun several of the ancient ones. From behind the protection of a new ecto shield and his crossed arms, Danny watched in shock as the fireballs simply died on contact with the shield.

"Huh? It didn't go through?" he murmured in surprise, "It just disappeared. Most ghost attacks just bounce off the shield or get blocked. I don't think I've ever seen them just... fizzle out." He dropped the shield, uncurling to reenter the battlefield with a new confidence. Now that he knew his ghost shield could stop the fireballs, he could focus on the two ghosts that had driven Caleb into the ground. Technus and Desiree floated nearby, scowling at him.

"Great, he's learned what could stop those ghosts from harming him." Desiree grumbled, folding her arms over her chest. Technus snorted, arms akimbo at the sight.

"And I was just starting to enjoy myself too. Well, let's get out of here! Without that robot, there's no one around who knows how to get rid of the gate." he threw in irritably, "Little Phantom will be joining us sooner or later, so there shouldn't be any worries!" With that, both ghosts vanished in bursts of ectoplasmic smoke, leaving Danny to deal with the ancient ghosts and their fireballs. He growled at the escape of his two opponents, then turned that anger on the group still lingering.

Blasts of ectoplasm were doing little in the way of damage, as Danny quickly learned after firing several powerful bursts. No matter the amount of strength he put into the Ghost Ray, it would only knock the ghosts out of their spell casting, maybe stun them at best. Without the Fenton Thermos and its light, Danny couldn't get rid of them. He flew back from a trio that fired their spells in sync and threw out his shield to block the attack, panting from the effort. His stamina had held out for so long already, but with little rest and the stress that was piling on, it was only a matter of time before he collapsed.

Everything would end if that happened.

"Sam, Tucker, Jazz, if there was any way you could get here to help, now would be a great time to join in!" he muttered to himself as a blur of metal spun into the fray and, green light shining brightly, slammed right into the side of his head. Mind swimming with pain and stars blooming before his eyes, Danny fell from the skies towards the now crowded street below him.

* * *

A dark blue car sped onto the scene, braking short of the wreckage that was quickly being watered down by firefighters as police dashed about to contain the panic. Sam was the first to leap out of the vehicle and turned her eyes to the sky in search of Danny, letting out a startled yell as she spotted him falling towards them.

"I think it hit him too hard!" Jazz cried in alarm, joining her with Tucker quickly following, "Isn't there anything we can do?"

"What was that thing?" Tucker asked no one in particular, staring at the broken down machine not far from them. He blinked at the motion he spotted in the shadows of a nearby alley and pointed towards it with a yell. "What's that?" he cried as Caleb darted from the alley in the unusual green clothes from the book.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were in class! I sent a substitute to let you know what I was doing!" he demanded angrily as he joined them, "That's the first time I've had to abandon ship to save my neck so early in a battle! This wasn't how the day was supposed to go! What the hell is going on?" Sam only screamed louder.

"Danny! Wake up!" she shrieked and the mythology teacher lifted his head to blink at the falling ghost being pursued by the half-dozen smaller ones.

"Oh, not again." he grumbled and held up his hands, a circle of white appearing at his feet, "A little closer..."

* * *

Danny groaned once and cracked an eye open. The pain had dulled to a throbbing headache and now the rushing of wind past him alerted him to the idea that he wasn't flying, but falling. He twisted in the air, saw Caleb miraculously alive and aiming something towards him, and yelped. He covered his head, prayed silently and turned intangible, halting himself in mid-air as he did so.

_"First Aid!"_ the teacher yelled and a tingling feeling flooded Danny's body that felt both warm and cold at once. It tickled for a few brief moments, but his pain ebbed away and he felt more refreshed. Whatever that was, it worked. Now he had to get rid of the ghosts tailing him. "Bring them closer to me!" the redhead below shouted and Danny dove for him, luring the bedsheet specters along. How the teacher managed to survive that crash and burn was beyond him, but at the moment, he didn't care. He was just grateful that someone was around to wipe out the ghosts behind him.

Sam and Jazz both reached into their bags for weapons, the Fenton Thermos and the Ghost Peeler. Jazz pressed at the buttons on her now armored self, configuring the gun before aiming it skyward and opening fire on the ghosts trailing her younger brother. She frowned as it only stunned the ghosts instead of peeled them apart like bananas.

"It doesn't work!" Danny shrieked at them and swerved aside as Sam uncapped the Thermos and aimed its light into the crowd of ghosts, "Watch where you aim that!"

_"Freeze Lancer!"_ Caleb yelled out, sending missiles of ice into the air after the beams of light. Ghosts exploded into nothingness at the assault and Danny flew straight into the earth, phasing through to escape the oncoming battalion of police and firefighters. Caleb turned to the three teens, breathing heavily. "He's got the right idea; let's get out of here!" he cried and raced away. Jazz removed her armor and shoved the compacted weapon into her purse, biting her lip as the Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle zoomed onto the scene.

"Oh, great! Mom and Dad are here! C'mon!" she exclaimed and they piled into her car to follow the escaping redhead.

* * *

The copse of trees was beginning to feel like a normal meeting site as Danny fell against the oak log, gasping for air in human form and Caleb pushed through to do the same. The halfa glanced over at him, eyebrow lifted.

"I thought... robots... don't breathe..." he puffed out. Caleb gasped once and coughed, then sat up and rubbed his head.

"Just me. It helps cool down my circuits. Oww. That wasn't fun." he complained, "Those two ghosts completely destroyed my Rheaird, and nearly blasted me along with it!"

"Your what?"

"Rheaird. It's a flying machine from the days of Symphonia. I use it to fly around and travel from place to place." Caleb sighed, "There's not a lot of them in the world and I restrict their manufacture for the reason that people aren't ready for them again." He winced and held his left arm close. "I think they might have damaged something. My armor didn't hold the attacks off as well as I'd hoped." Both of them fell silent and turned to watch the newcomers enter the copse. Sam rushed through the moment things were clear and gave Danny another tight hug.

"Where the **hell** have you been? You had us all freaking out, you dork!" she yelled to hide her tears, "You didn't show up at school, you were acting strange last night, and now you almost got killed by a bunch of those stupid old ghosts!" Danny blushed as he hugged her back, ignoring Tucker's little victory grin and Jazz rolling her eyes.

"I _did_ show up at school but I had to leave right as I got there. That voice was there and it sounded a lot stronger than before." he explained, finally breaking free of the embrace. He looked at all of his friends. "It even got control of Desiree and Technus, the ghosts that shot down Caleb and nearly destroyed him." he added grimly, "That King of the Underworld guy is stepping things up. And he still wants me as Danny Phantom to join up with him!" Caleb groaned and shook his head.

"You mean to say the Book of the Underworld was at Casper High this whole time? I wasted my day out here instead of dealing with it there? Oh, for Martel's sake!" he complained and rubbed his arm gingerly with a sigh, "I'm gonna have to repair myself pretty soon."

"You can deal with it now. Did that Soul Stone thing come in yet?" Jazz demanded. The redhead stared at her in shock.

"How did you learn about that?" he asked in surprise, then narrowed his eyes, "You read ahead in the books, right?"

"Your substitute told us all about it. The stone you gave to a family in America to keep safe until you needed it, and how you had them send it to you here. And the tests on Danny you took that told you magic doesn't work on modern ghosts." Tucker added helpfully, "So now that we know what's going on and that this King dude's got Desiree and Technus on his side, we're gonna step in to do our thing!" Caleb bristled angrily, eyes glowing as equally a brilliant green as Danny's own when infuriated.

"You're going to get killed! No! Absolutely not! You're not getting involved in something that took place thousands of years ago!" he snapped, "You're going to lie low, keep Danny safe and away from that high school, and let me handle the rest!" The halfa folded his arms over his chest, scowling.

"No way! This is our problem now! That guy's using modern ghosts, the ghosts **I** fight all the time! I know them better than you do and I can actually _hit_ them!" he shot back, noting with some satisfaction that the android winced again at the reminder of his helplessness against Desiree and Technus, "So like it or not, we're in this together! They were sent specifically after you, _then_ me! You were more important to get rid of first! So give us the whole story, man! What's so special about you that the King of the Underworld wants you wiped out?" Caleb sputtered a bit, then scowled and stood, turning his back on the group.

"The substitute said basically the same thing." Jazz added in a low voice, "He said that if the King of the Underworld had managed to capture and turn Danny to his power, the first thing he'd have Danny do was destroy you. Why? Why does he want you gone so badly? Is it because you have the Soul Stone? Does he know you found one and are going to use it?"

"Is it because you can use magic on him too?" Sam threw in harshly, "A robot that can use magic; I bet that must be **really** irritating. Humans tire out and run out of energy, but you can keep going forever. You can just keep throwing spells until Judgment Day and never break a sweat! That's gotta be a pain in the ass for the King of the Underworld!"

"Maybe he knows that you can build something to keep him trapped in that Book forever. You are a product of technology and can work with it like it's nobody's business. Given all the time you had, you probably came up with a technical solution to the problem." Tucker added, folding his arms over his chest as he narrowed his eyes behind his glasses, glaring over the rims at the teacher, "If not, then you have the time to make a cage for that Book. Time and technology; you could seal it away for all time and stand eternal guard over it and it knows that." Danny stood and clenched his fists together, eyes glowing vivid green as he scowled at the redhead.

"Tell us already! Why is this Book so eager to get rid of you if it's already strong enough to do what it plans to do?" he shouted. Caleb sighed and shook his head, holding his injured arm tightly.

"Because of who and what I am." he replied tiredly, "I'm known to the Underworld and to the forces of darkness as the Guardian Angel of the Heroes of Lore." He turned back to the group and shrugged weakly. "Ever since Symphonia, I've been keeping track of the descendants of the Heroes who saved the world when danger threatened it, making sure their bloodlines continued to thrive no matter what. Whenever darkness threatened the world, I was the one who awakened the Heroes in the family lines and guided them on their journeys, always hidden, never seen." he remarked and smiled sadly, "After so many thousands of years doing that, I wanted to stop. I was getting tired of it, tired of seeking out the children of my friends, sending them off to possibly die, then just sitting by and watching events unfold." He clenched his teeth tightly, glaring at the group as tears began falling from his eyes.

"I was sick and tired of watching them all die of age, while I just existed like this! Trapped forever young and everlasting, while everyone I knew and cared for and loved withered away from time!" he finally yelled in a fury, "And this stupid Book knows that if it tries anything big, the first thing I'm going to do is find the new Heroes of this world and send them after it! So if I get destroyed, the Heroes will never awaken and the possibility that their bloodlines will die will come to pass! Those Heroes in the books I gave you! I watched over _their_ children! Their families still live!"

"You mean there really _was_ a Lloyd and Genis and all the others? And their descendants; they're alive?" Danny cried in shock as his friends stepped back in surprise at the confession. "All that stuff is true?"

"If it wasn't, none of us would be standing here." Caleb grumbled, rubbing away tears, "Doesn't matter. I refuse to let another battle between good and evil start up again. I'll get too attached to the Heroes, and my pain will start all over again when they die of age." He straightened himself up and looked stern. "That's why I'm going to stop this myself, _alone_. I'm neutral, so my power is enhanced by the fact that I'm not easily swayed by either evil or good. I just do what needs to be done and move on. Anything else that arises after that is not my problem."

"Guardian Angel of the Heroes of Lore." Jazz murmured to herself, "I can see the ties now. You watched over the Heroes of the past, making sure that their families lived and prospered, so if the world ever needed saving, you could call on them and they would resume their roles as Heroes." Her eyebrows shot up. "If you were destroyed, there would be no guarantees of life for the Heroes' families. They could even be wiped out over time! No Heroes, no hope for the world if darkness came. And if it all happened at the same time, the Heroes wouldn't have a warning of it. No time to prepare for retaliation."

"I get it. Caleb's an early warning system for the Heroes." Tucker remarked brightly, understanding dawning on him, "He came here to check out the situation so he could alert the right Heroes for the job!"

"No! I came here to deal with the issue myself so there wouldn't **be** a need for Heroes!" Caleb snapped, "Martel, didn't you _listen_ to a word I said? If I summoned Heroes to deal with this, I'll be there to watch and guide them. In the process, I'll grow attached to them, befriend them, become a part of their circle of family and friends." The tears began again. "Then my heart will break again as I watch them grow old and die, right before my eyes. And there's _nothing_ I can do about it, because I'm just a machine and can never be touched by time like humans!"

"Are you hoping to die in this fight then?" Danny asked seriously, folding his arms over his chest as he stared down the teacher. Caleb shrugged slightly.

"Maybe yes, maybe no. I don't know. I'm just tired of being alive while everyone I know and love fades away. I'm tired of being abandoned by time." he mumbled and shook his head. "Anyway, I'm going to get my arm repaired. And I'll definitely need access to the Fenton files to get new weapons for fighting off those ghosts."

"You're not getting it until you agree to let us help! This is our fight as much as yours!" Danny snapped back.

"I said, **no!** I'm through with dragging kids into wars! I refuse to awaken another Hero!" the redhead shot back furiously.

"It's too late for that, Caleb! I was already a hero before you got here!" Danny yelled in return, "And you're a hero too! Stop denying it!" The teens stared at him in shock. This was an unexpectedly hot argument. Caleb gave him a gaping expression, speechless. "Guardian Angel of the Heroes of Lore, huh? Sounds to me like what that means is that you're the Hero to Heroes! You save them from trouble, you keep them safe from harm, you warn them of danger and you become their friend!" Danny pressed on, "You care for them and love them and shed tears when they die, but still you watch over them, no matter how much it hurts! If that doesn't make you a hero, then I'm not fit to be one either!" The white ring appeared at waist level, splitting and traveling along his body to change him into his ghost form. He stood there in the black and white haz-mat suit, green eyes never moving from the android's face.

"I fight for the people who live here, for the ones I care for, for the ones I love..." Danny's voice cracked for a moment, then strengthened again, "I fight to protect them, to warn them of what's coming, to make sure they know there's something more to the world that they need to be aware of. And some of them, if not most of them, would like nothing more than to see me dead too! All because they think I'm one of the bad guys, because they believe all ghosts are evil and can never be anything more than evil! Even then, I still protect them! You said it yourself, half-breeds could be the worst villains or the best heroes! I chose to be a hero! You're a half-breed too! Half-machine, half-alive! What do **you** choose to be?"

For several minutes there was only silence. Sam, Tucker and Jazz could feel the tension that began to smother them, the battle of wills between the ancient android and the young half-ghost before them raging in dead silence. Caleb stood expressionless for the longest time, then a smile cracked on his face before he burst into laughter.

"Goddess, you remind me so much of an old friend of mine that I could just _swear _his soul is in your body now!" he declared, much to the surprise of the teens in the clearing. Danny blinked and tilted his head, confused. "Oh, don't do that, please; he did that constantly and it just made me want to rub his hair the wrong way to tick him off." Danny covered his head with his hands, eyes wide with alarm. "Martel, you're still mimicking him!" Caleb laughed and wiped a tear away, "My dearest friend, your influence lasts even today! No matter how much I bury myself in sorrow and despair, you always find a way to find me and bring me out. Are you repaying me for the times I stood by you as your world crumbled around you?"

"What are you talking about?" Danny asked, baffled by the response he got. This wasn't _quite_ what he was after. Then again, he wasn't sure what it was he wanted as an answer. He'd even forgotten the question. The redhead only smiled and nodded, gazing down at the grass.

"I see. Yes. He was both and chose in the end to be true to himself, to his family and to his blood. He chose to be a Hero. I guess, in honor of him, of his sacrifices and his friendship, I will do the same." he murmured and grinned at Danny, "All right then, Danny Phantom! I'll be a Hero, too! We'll stop the King of the Underworld as a team!" He laughed. "This'll be like the old days! Wren, Pepper, Ginger! Check me out! I'm leading another bunch of teenagers into battle! I even found a couple of them have the hots for each other too!"

_"We're not like that!"_ both Danny and Sam shrieked in denial before giving each other startled looks. Tucker began laughing, desperately trying to hide it behind his hands as Jazz's face turned red and she shot her brother a glare. Caleb laughed harder, falling back on the grass and kicking at the air.

"Goddess, it **can't** get any better than this! They're denying it just like you guys!" he hooted, "I feel so alive! This is gonna be the most fun I've had in over two thousand years!"


	6. Chapter 6

6

.

Jack and Maddie hadn't returned from their venture in Amity Park, searching for ghosts, so it left the house free for the group of friends to gather and discuss the next step. Caleb sat in the living room with Tucker, talking amiably about the technology that made him as he worked with several tools on the repairs of his arm. The boy was fascinated, pointing out parts in the open section of the android's arm and asking questions about them. Jazz kept a watch on the windows, standing guard so as to warn the group when the Fentons arrived. Sam and Danny made snacks in the kitchen, as the halfa had developed a vicious hunger since the battles just an hour or so ago.

"That should do it." Caleb remarked at last, flexing his fingers and watching the mechanics in his arm twitch and shift with the motions. Tucker leaned closer for a look and blinked as a shimmer of light passed over the metal. "Mana fueling system back online. Everything seems to be functioning properly." the android added and closed the flesh-toned panel over the exposed circuitry. He flexed his arm a few times to test it, then slipped on the open-ended long glove he wore on his arms.

"So magitechnology is a combination of magic and science developed by half-elves in ancient times, and this is the stuff you're made of?" Tucker asked. Caleb nodded. "And the metal that was used to make you is an alloy designed to enhance and channel mana, which is how you can cast magic and stay powered." The boy rubbed his chin thoughtfully, eyebrows furrowed together. "Man, why can't we have any of this cool stuff **now**?"

"The world isn't ready for it yet. Magitechnology uses up mana to run, and if it's made _en mass_ and wasted by humans, mana will be drained from the world." Caleb explained. Jazz made a face at the window.

"And the world will die without it. Not all of us are **that** mindless, Caleb. Surely we'll be ready for it soon." she remarked, "The technology my parents are creating now; isn't that kind of like magitechnology?"

"Sort of. It surprised me, the kinds of things they came up with. It operates on the same principle, but it's using different energy and it's a combination of science and something not quite magic." Caleb answered truthfully, "For the time being, I think I'll call it ectotechnology. It'll work on ghosts of the modern age, but it won't affect anything that uses magic because magic is based on mana." Sam and Danny entered the room with several plates of sandwiches and sodas, catching part of the conversation as they did.

"Ecto-what?" Danny echoed in confusion.

"Ectotechnology." Jazz repeated for him, "Caleb says that's what Mom and Dad are making. It works on ghosts that use ectoplasm for their energy, but not on anything that uses magic or mana." She frowned and looked back at the teacher. "But if that's true, then why would it work on Danny if Danny has mana too?"

"Because he's a half-ghost. Half of his energy is from mana, the other from ectoplasm; the fusion of the two energies in his body not only altered his genetics but his mana signature as well." Caleb answered with a shrug. "So ectotechnology will still search out the ectoplasm half of him and attack that no matter **what** form he's in. It just seems to be a stronger attack when he's in ghost form." He grinned. "It's also why my magic affects him. I'm going after the part of him that still runs on mana, and since the altered mana is still just mana, it connects with him completely."

"Can you explain that to my parents' inventions then? Maybe they'll stop working so well on me once they get the idea that I'm mana-based, too." Danny grumbled, rubbing his head out of memory of the Booomerang hitting him. Caleb lit up at the idea.

"Hey, that'll be a great way of testing my theories! I'll have to run a few more tests on you, but if I can pull it off, then those ghost weapons will be harmless to you and you alone!" he exclaimed. Sam gaped at him between bites of sandwich.

"You can make it so Danny's immune to ghost weapons?" she cried and looked joyful, "That'll be great! We won't have to worry about Valerie and Danny's parents and...!" Caleb shook his head. "What?"

"I can only do it for the Fenton weapons. Without direct access to the ones Valerie Gray uses, I can't make the same alterations." he corrected. Danny nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, and if she finds her guns aren't working on me anymore, she'll just transform to reset her weapons, or worse yet, get some new ones from Vlad that will work just as well and scan my DNA at the same time." he grumbled, "Unless you can fix all of Vlad's weapons and force changes to stick to ghost-given weapons, working on Valerie's guns is pretty much useless." The android bristled.

"Masters? That guy's involved in your ghost situation here too?" he complained, "What on earth is _up_ with him? I just thought he was weird and erratic, but I figured he'd grow out of it!"

"You know Vlad Masters?" Tucker remarked in surprise, "He's Danny's nemesis! Like Joker to Batman, Lex Luthor to Superman, Kingpin to Spiderman!"

"Darth Vader to Luke Skywalker." Caleb added in dryly, rolling his eyes, "I think I get the idea. As for how I know him, we met a few times in various business get-togethers. He was after accumulating wealth however he could to chase after someone in Amity Park, and I was just trying to offload a few corporations I found myself owner of after I came back from several long trips overseas." He blinked. "Speaking of which, who the heck is in charge of Hershey's now? Ginger would throw a tantrum fit to scare Martel if she knew half her candy recipes are selling for less than fifty cents at Wal-Mart."

"Vlad's after my mom and me. We kind of have a truce going on." Danny sighed, "As long as I don't tell my parents who he really is, thus ensuring he still has a chance to steal my mom away from Dad, then he won't tell them who I am, so they don't freak out." He frowned. "But I already know that even if they knew what and who I am, they'll still love me for me! He doesn't get that! Mom doesn't love him because she loves Dad, not because he's a half-ghost too!" Jazz nodded in agreement.

"He's even gone so far as to try to use me to get to Danny." she added and sighed, shaking her head, "That man could really use some professional psychological counseling."

"He's a fruit loop. He needs a lobotomy, not counseling." the halfa grumbled and bit into a sandwich as Jazz glared at him in frustration.

"You should at least let Mom and Dad know! Especially Dad! As mayor of the city, Vlad Masters has the power to make it that much harder for you to protect us and them!" she pointed out and narrowed her eyes, "And you disappeared an awful lot when we visited him in Wisconsin that one time. What exactly were you doing there? What was **he** doing?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

_"Danny!"_

"My cue to move. I'm going to investigate that lab and gather the data I need." Caleb remarked and hurried out the room. Tucker pulled his plate towards himself.

"He didn't eat his snack. Oh, well. More for me!" he laughed. Danny stood, dropping his half-eaten sandwich onto his plate.

"I'm going to help him with the data downstairs. Can't have him accidentally blowing something vital to pieces." he muttered as he headed for the basement. Jazz stepped after him and he shot her a glare. "Alone! I told you, Jazz; I don't want to talk about it. Vlad's not the problem now; that Nebilim guy Desiree and Technus were talking about is our current deal. We need that stone to stop the Book and Caleb needs our weapons to protect himself against the ghosts." he griped and headed out. Jazz sighed sadly and hugged herself.

"It could be days before that stone arrives. What are we supposed to do about the school until then?" she murmured softly and followed her little brother's figure with her eyes, "Danny, why won't you talk to me about what _really_ goes on in your life as Phantom?"

* * *

"What exactly does this thing do?" Caleb asked as soon as Danny stepped into the basement. He glanced over his shoulder, a puzzled look on his face as the halfa blinked and joined him at the table of gadgets. The android was pointing at a small device with a large speaker and sound wave meter. Danny sighed in a mix of embarrassment and resignation.

"That's the Fenton Ghost Gabber. Please don't turn it on. It's really annoying." he replied, "It's supposed to translate ghost language into human language, but since ghosts already speak English, it's pointless." Caleb peered at the device, poked at it, then abandoned it in favor of another invention. "That's the Fenton Ghost Crammer. It shrinks ghosts. It also shorts out their powers but Dad doesn't know about that part." he sighed.

"I take it you experienced the effects of this thing?" Caleb asked with a grin. Danny gave an irritated huff in response. "Why didn't he call it a Shrinker or something? Crammer?"

"Don't ask me to explain Dad's logic. It's a little strange, but his heart's in the right place." the halfa replied and smiled, patting the weapon. "It works, so that's a point for him. And it's not lethal, well, not directly, so that works out okay too." He walked along and picked up another rifle-like weapon, gazing down at it with a strange expression on his face. Fear, anger, sorrow; they all flickered on his face as he held the gun in his hands. "This one's the Fenton Rifle. Highly lethal, more so if my mom's firing it. She's a lot more accurate than my dad." he murmured and set it down, "It hurts less over time, but the first blast stings really bad. If I can twist my body so it only hits my leg or arm, I can cover it up easier the next day."

"Why don't you just tell them? Then, they won't shoot at you anymore." Caleb asked softly, "It's not right to keep this from your parents. They're hurting you and they don't even know it." Danny shrugged.

"Yeah, but it'll hurt them a lot worse if they knew who it was they nearly killed on a few occasions." he remarked almost casually and moved to another device. "This is a smaller version of the Ghost Shield Dad has installed on the Ops Center to cover Fenton Works. It keeps out all ghosts, or in my case sometimes, it keeps them in." He grinned. "Doesn't work on humans, so I can pass through it as long as I'm not in ghost mode at the time."

"You say that you already know how they would react if you told them. Did you reveal yourself to them once before?" the android questioned in curiosity. Danny dropped his hands to his sides and sighed heavily.

"Sort of. At the beginning of summer, this guy called Freakshow managed to reveal my secret to the whole world. My parents found out that way. After a trip to recover some lost gems and stop him from taking over reality itself, I learned that my parents didn't care that I was half ghost." he replied and looked back at him with a sad smile, "They still loved me. I'm their son. Nothing had changed that, not even a stupid accident." He looked away and shook his head. "It meant a lot to me, it really did. But, I couldn't let them or anyone else know about me. So I used those gems and an artifact called the Reality Gauntlet to erase the memories of my secret from the world. Then I destroyed it to prevent anyone else from abusing its power." He looked up at the redhead's impassive face. "What?"

"Aside from blowing away a valuable piece of research material, that was probably the dumbest thing you ever did." Caleb growled, "Do you realize that you could have erased the memories of the rest of the world, and left the ones for your parents alone? That way, you would have had two great allies on your side and a larger support system!"

"Maybe. I don't really know for sure why I took the memories from them." Danny sighed, "Maybe I wanted to keep the secret from them longer. Maybe I felt that I'd be putting them in danger if they kept their memories." He bit his lip, guiltily. "Maybe... I ruined it... and if they found my secret on their own... Maybe things will take a different course. Maybe Vlad will be right in the end, and they'll turn on me next time..."

"Maybe, maybe, maybe. I never liked that word. Too much like 'what if' questions, and those tick me off." the android grumbled and shook his head, "You tampered with the fabric of reality. This world is now slightly altered from before this Freakshow mess. Their acceptance of you then may have been true for that reality; now, the conditions may have been reset."

"So I _did_ ruin it..." the boy moaned in near anguish.

"Danny, your parents are only human! You ruined nothing, just returned to the original issue of whether or not they will continue to love you should they ever re-discover that you are half ghost!" Caleb pointed out sharply, "How they react depends on the strength of their hearts. It always has. If they have strong hearts that see beyond the things that can't be changed, then they will love you despite your condition." Danny looked down at his feet, fighting back tears as he clenched his trembling hands into tight fists at his sides.

"And if their hearts are weak...?" he whispered.

"Your choice to be the Hero will be tested. Every Hero who has ever lived has had to face a test of their determination, their resolve, their desire to continue doing the right thing despite being betrayed by those they believed were their supporters." Caleb murmured in response. He lifted a hand towards him, then dropped it. "Some pass, some don't. Some fall but are brought back to light by those who love them and have strong hearts. And some fall so far, they lose themselves to darkness and never return." He gave a small smile. "As far as I've seen and learned, your parents seem to have strong hearts. Perhaps, things will work out again for you. They might not be the test of your heart." Danny stared at him hopefully. Caleb reached out and picked up the rifle, grinning. "But let's make those alterations, just in case. Okay?" he remarked brightly.

"Heh. Yeah. That'll be one less thing for me to worry about, at least." Danny chuckled and took the gun from him. "What kind of tests do you need to run to make the changes?"

"Just a full record of your mana signature, bio-readings, kinetic signature, stuff that you probably wouldn't understand." Caleb answered off-handedly and laughed at the glazed expression on the halfa's face, "I'm telling you, you look so much like my best friend that I could just stick his hat on your head and turn you loose on the world!"

"Yeah, about that. Who do I remind you of, exactly?" Danny asked in confusion, "It's kind of been bugging me."

"He was a chef, a really good one." Caleb replied and looked distant, a faintly sad expression on his face, "He was a Hero, too, but not in the way most people think Heroes are supposed to be like. He often said his life was pure hell and that he'd be better off dead, but he loved the world too much to do anything that could bring harm to it." Danny lifted an eyebrow at that.

"He loved the world?" he echoed incredulously. Caleb nodded brightly.

"Yup! He loved the world; everything that lived and existed on it, everything that had a heart and life. Even his enemies and the people who wanted to kill him to take a power he never really wanted; he loved them all." the android said cheerfully.

"That's crazy! How can somebody love a person who wants them dead?" Danny exclaimed in shock, "They wanted him _dead_! Didn't he know what 'dead' means?"

"Of course he did!" Caleb shot back, "But it didn't stop him from loving them all anyway." He smiled fondly. "Besides, that's what gave him his power to begin with. A whole organization believed that killing him would entitle them to the power he wielded, but they never understood that the source of his strength, the source of his power, was his love for all things that lived."

"And how do I remind you of this guy?"

"Because I believe that you have that same love in you." Caleb replied smartly, "You said it yourself." Danny cocked his head in confusion and the android shook his head. "Don't you remember? In the park?" he asked and began a perfect imitation of the halfa's voice, _"I fight to protect them, to warn them of what's coming, to make sure they know there's something more to the world that they need to be aware of. And some of them, if not most of them, would like nothing more than to see me dead too! All because they think I'm one of the bad guys, because they believe all ghosts are evil and can never be anything more than evil! Even then, I still protect them!"_ Danny shuddered, wincing at the imitation.

"Do me a favor and never do that again. That's just creepy." he muttered and paused in thought, bringing his fingers up to his chin as he tilted his head again, "But I did say that, didn't I? And I meant it, too."

"You have a strong heart, and a kind soul. There's a light that burns in you that no ghost can ever have. You're unique in that way, even if you're the second half ghost in the world." Caleb told him.

"Halfa." Danny corrected absently, "I'm called a halfa. Well, it's the only term I can say without getting a mouth full of soap. Half a human, half a ghost... halfa."

"Right, well, it doesn't change the qualities you have." the android went on, "I think you might be innately Light element, same as me, same as my friend. If I can get you to put your light with your ghost powers, you might be able to fight ancient ghosts as well as modern ones." Danny lit up at the thought and Caleb grinned. "But first, those tests! Hold still, this'll only take a few minutes."

Danny cringed and froze in place, expecting a barrage of instruments and high-tech gear shoved in places things shouldn't be shoved into. The image of an alien autopsy jumped into his head and he panicked, jumping back as Caleb held out both hands. The android frowned and put his arms akimbo.

"For the love of Martel, hold still! How can I take those readings if you're jumping around like a newborn mana beast?" he complained and reached out again. Danny jumped back once more, swallowing hard as he tried to quell the disturbing images in his mind. "Look, I'm just going to put my hands on your shoulders. My sensors will filter out junk information and focus on the mana emanating from your body." Caleb explained in frustration, "It won't hurt a bit. I promise."

"That's all? You're just gonna touch me?" Danny stammered out and gave him a wary look, "You're not one of those...?" Caleb blinked in confusion, then took on an insulted expression as he realized what the question was insinuating, recoiling from the boy with a disgusted snarl.

"_Sick!_ What do you think I am? Goddess, you really _are_ like Wren! He had the same first thought you did!" he snapped, "For heaven's sake, I'm putting my hands on your shoulders because it's the closest accessible area to both your heart and brain that I can get without people getting the wrong ideas! Apparently, people are _still_ getting the wrong idea! What? Did you expect me to shove my hand down your shirt? Maybe you think I'm after your pants! Dear Goddess, that's probably what you thought, isn't it?" The redhead threw his hands up in exasperation, "I may be designed to look like a ladies' man, but I assure you that I have **no** sex drive! I'm a freaking machine, remember? What's the point in it if nothing comes out after nine months?" With that, he spun on his heel and stomped up the stairs, grumbling to himself. Sometime later both Sam and Tucker stuck their heads through the doorway, blinking at him.

"Hey, Danny! What'd you do to Caleb? He's in the kitchen going on about sick people and stuff!" Tucker called down in confusion.

"Yeah, what'd you say or do? I've never seen anyone that mad before. He can't even finish half the sentences he's saying!" Sam added in surprise. Danny sighed and shook his head, tromping up the steps to join them.

"We had a misunderstanding. Are my parents home yet?" he replied and Sam shook her head. "Okay. Oh, and, uh, sorry about last night." The Goth gave him a puzzled look. "For falling asleep on your... umph?" Danny's voice was muffled quickly by Sam slapping her hand over his mouth, eyes wide as Tucker looked between them in confusion.

"He fell asleep where?" the boy asked, then blinked a few times before breaking into a huge grin. "Oh man! Sweet going, Danny! So are you and Sam...?"

"No! Don't read more into it than there really is!" Sam shot at him, "He was really tired last night and he fell asleep at my house. I couldn't kick him out because he was tired so I just threw a blanket on him and let him sleep. He freaked out my parents by screaming his head off when my alarm sounded." Tucker lifted an eyebrow at the confession.

"I thought your room was soundproof." he remarked. Sam scowled.

"All the soundproofing in the world can't drown out Danny's screaming when he's one octave away from the Ghostly Wail." she grumbled. Danny tapped at her hand and she glanced back at him, then blushed and pulled it away. "Sorry."

"S'okay. Where's Jazz?" he tried changing the subject.

"Get out of the kitchen! I'm not in the mood!" Caleb yelled suddenly and Jazz hurried towards the teens, eyes wide in alarm.

"What's wrong with him? He's tearing the place apart looking for oregano!" she cried, "What does he need oregano for? Wasn't he getting the data from our ghost collection?" Danny dragged his hand down his face, growling in irritation.

"This is my fault. Hang on. Lemme go talk to him again. God, I can be such an idiot sometimes!" he berated himself and marched into the warzone that was the Fentons' kitchen.

* * *

It took a while to calm down the android and settle the argument. By then, Sam, Tucker, Jazz and Danny witnessed the redhead wash every dish in the kitchen, scrub the floor and counters clean and prepare a meal fit to serve a dinner party.

"Man, that's not normal." Tucker remarked, staring at the kitchen before turning his gaze on the meal. "Hey, Danny, can I stay over for dinner if you're serving that?" The halfa groaned under his breath, shaking his head in mock despair. "Hey, if robots can't eat, why can he cook?"

"Because it's something I used to do a long time ago." Caleb griped, sitting at the table and twisting a napkin in his grip, "Before I became a scholar, I was a servant. Now I just cook and clean when I get really upset." He shot the group a glare. "I thought Jazz was standing lookout?" The carrot-top yelped and rushed out the room, returning to her post at the window. "We should all still be in school anyway. You're going to be in trouble for skipping the day." Tucker tapped at his PDA and shook his head.

"Not a problem. The panic at school today was enough to shut the place down. They've got police and ghost hunters crawling all over the place in search of whatever is making such a huge mess there." he answered and held it out, the image of the school under lockdown displayed on the screen. "Those ghosts must be all over the place; the current report is that more students are getting snatched up and dragged off, disappearing into the library and never coming out."

"My parents must be there, too." Danny remarked, taking the PDA in his hand and studying it carefully, "Yeah, I can just about make out the RV in the background. We have time." He looked up at the android. "Can you run those tests and make the alterations? If I'm going to be fighting ghosts in the same place as a bunch of ghost hunters, I'd rather not get shot out of the battle by Mom and Dad." Caleb's eye seemed to twitch as he twisted the napkin further.

"Only if you will **hold still** for the process." he growled through clenched teeth.

* * *

It wasn't as bad as Danny had thought. As the teacher explained slowly, in terms that he could understand, a majority of his sensors for scanning and testing materials were set in his hands, the more sensitive of them in his fingertips. By holding something, he could gather a ton of data about it in very little time. Danny flinched a bit as the android placed both hands on his shoulders, glancing over at his friends for reassurance. Tucker was busy watching Caleb closely, but Sam gave him a small smile and a thumb's up before replacing the expression with her usual look of abject boredom.

He had to stand still; Caleb was adamant about that. Moving stirred up the flow of mana and triggered things in his body that would confuse the android's sensors. He also had to stay calm, as emotions would do the same thing as moving. Danny sighed after a few minutes, bored with the whole ordeal and beginning to feel a little tired from standing.

"Couldn't we have done this while I was sitting or something?" he complained.

"Should have done that before I started. Now, quiet. I'm almost done." Caleb grumbled back, eyes shut in concentration. A few more moments and he pulled away, his face taking on a puzzled look. "That's very strange. I got an unusual reading a bit ago..." He frowned, "Did you think of something that triggered an emotional response?" Danny blinked and shook his head. "You did something; I picked up a spike in the ectomana signature that increased power potential for a moment. That kind of a spike is triggered by a strong emotional response to a stimulus."

"All I did was look at Tucker and... um..." Danny began to reply, then turned a bright red and shrugged, "Think about Paulina?" he finished lamely as Sam scowled fiercely by Tucker. Caleb frowned again.

"Liar. I picked up no spike when you mentioned Paulina. Now that I have your ectomana signature recorded, I can monitor it from a distance." he growled, "To speak of Paulina, you had to think of her. This didn't trigger the spike in your ectomana." He eyed the boy fidgeting before him, then made a quick glance at his two friends. "Did you look at Sam during the test?" he finally asked and grinned, "Ah, there it is. Okay, I'll filter that out of the end results."

"Shut up." Danny grumbled, folding his arms over his chest as his face burned with embarrassment. Tucker looked between them all, then cracked a grin.

"Man, even the robot sees it! You guys are total lovebirds!" he laughed.

"We're not lovebirds!" both Sam and Danny denied loudly before stomping off to opposite ends of the kitchen. Caleb studied his fingertips with a smile.

"Y'know, if I weren't so busy trying to get all this wrapped up so I can get back to my original archiving mission, I'd be really tempted to play matchmaker for you two." he remarked and headed out, "It'll take about two hours for me to get the data copied and modify the weapons to ignore your particular ectomana fusion. You might as well eat something; you skipped lunch." Tucker cheered and raced for the platters of food laid out on the table.

* * *

Two hours went by more slowly than the teens thought they would. Jazz abandoned her post by the windows once she learned about the shutdown of the school and how the ghost hunters were swarming all over it in search of missing students and teachers. After the first hour of Caleb's work on the Fenton weapons, the group heard a loud curse from the basement and rushed down to see what had happened. The android was sitting at one table, a Fenton Foamer open before him, and was glaring furiously at a small device not far from him.

"That King of the Underworld is really getting on my nerves. I don't know how, but he managed to destroy the substitute I sent over there to stall for time." he grumbled and held his tools tightly in his hands, "Now it's personal!" Jazz lifted the hand-held device and studied it in confusion.

"You track your robots with this?" she asked him and tapped at the screen. The image of the blonde from earlier appeared, a large red X marked through him. "This is the guy from your mythology class. Adam, right? He was destroyed?" she murmured in shock. Caleb sighed and nodded.

"Yeah. Out of all the robots I built, he was my favorite." he replied and resumed work on the rifle, "His design was based on my best friend, the one Danny here reminds me of. I made him so his power was as close to my own as possible, but apparently it wasn't enough to stop whatever it was that destroyed him." He scowled, "I'm going to have to build another Adam when I get back to New York; he takes forever to get right! You can't get that much aionis around here anymore!" He tapped at the circuitry in the Fenton Foamer and closed the panel. "That's another one done. Pass me the Fenton Crammer. I need to work on that one next."

"But it's not lethal." Jazz remarked as Danny picked up the gun and handed it off.

"It's still annoying. I nearly got pummeled by your sweat." he pointed out and shuddered, "Then I was run down by a dust bunny, not to mention my ghost powers were shorting out and it wasn't easy covering _that_ up with Dash following along by me." Tucker examined the data crystal device hooked up to the Fenton mainframe computer in curiosity.

"You're copying the ghost data into this?" he asked the android. Caleb nodded, tweaking the inner workings of the Fenton Crammer. "I thought magitechnology and our current technology weren't compatible."

"It isn't, but on some things I made patches that let them be compatible." He waved a tool in Tucker's general location, still studying the ghost weapon in his hand. "Take a look. That's using a USB cable to connect. The software install was a pain, though. It kept asking if I wanted to search online for an update." Sam joined the African-American boy in studying the computer and the crystal. She tapped her lip with a finger and frowned.

"It's finished downloading the data, but now it's putting something into the Fentons' computer." she pointed out suspiciously. Caleb nodded.

"That's good. Those are the modifications to the schematics of all these weapons, along with a small program that carries Danny's mana signature in memory. It will bury itself into the computer's own records and watch over every new schematic that gets entered." the android replied, closing up the Crammer and setting it aside for the next weapon, "Since the Fentons use these computers to configure the weapons they make, the program will wait until they connect the weapon to the system, then slip in the record of Danny's mana signature, rendering the new weapon incapable of hitting him. Anytime a new weapon blueprint is entered, that same program will make the alteration in that to trick them into building it with the same mana protection."

"Too bad you can't do the same to Vlad's weapons." Tucker sighed, "They act just like the Fenton weapons." The android only shrugged, working on the Ghost Shield, then asking Danny to retrieve the one on the roof for modification.

"Well, they kinda are the same." Jazz remarked slowly, "Dad likes to share his findings with his 'best pal' Vlad, but I think Vlad's also somehow stealing the blueprints from our house. I just don't know how."

"If he's getting his hands on Fenton blueprints to make his weapons, then these will eventually overwrite all of his old blueprints, making Danny immune to whatever Vlad dishes out." Caleb pointed out, eyes still focused on his work, "It's a trickle-down effect. All the weapons that hit Danny are based on the technology that his parents developed. If they are the source and the source is altered to make Danny immune, then any copies of them that are shared or stolen or whatever will have the same changes in them. Anyone using a Fenton-based weapon of any kind will find that it works great on ghosts, but it won't do a damn thing to Danny Phantom."

"And since Valerie gets her backup weapons from Vlad and Vlad's getting them from the Fentons..." Sam mused aloud and smiled brilliantly, "Then that means Valerie will eventually get weapons that won't hurt Danny!" Caleb nodded slowly. "That took too long. What's the catch?" Sam demanded, glaring at the android.

"Blades. If the weapon is a blade, it'll be much harder to alter. If the blade is energy based, then the change in its makeup is easy to make. It will ignore Danny's ectomana signature and not cut into anything that has that signature." he pointed out and blinked as Danny floated down through the ceiling with the larger Ghost Shield generator in his arms. He set to work on that as the boy, in ghost form, plopped himself on a table to rest. "If the blade is physical and is treated with a substance that enables it to make contact with ghosts, then there's not much I can do. Chemistry like that is unique and sometimes unstable. To alter the formula for such a substance in order to force it to ignore Danny's ectomana could result in a new compound that could do much worse things."

"What's going on?" Danny asked, already lost on the conversation. Caleb continued working on the generator, snorting once in contempt.

"Half these pieces don't even look necessary! Man, this makes it too easy to change! Tune this here, twist that... then input this variable and... okay. Danny, take this back up and reinstall it. Next time this Ghost Shield goes up, you can walk right through it no matter the form you take." he remarked, closing the panel. Sam watched Danny make a face but lift the device anyway, disappearing through the ceiling to return it.

"What about Dan Phantom?" she asked suddenly and the android gave her a blank stare, "There's an evil ghost out there, from the future, who we call Dark Danny, Dan for short. He's Danny's evil self, much older and stronger. But he's not supposed to exist anymore, not since Danny changed history to stop him from ever being created." Sam bit her lip in thought. "He's like an alternate version of what Danny could be in the future. Could he pass through the Ghost Shield and be immune to the weapons too?" Caleb picked up the Specter Deflector and opened it up for altering.

"Dunno. Tell me as much as you can about that one. Without more information, I can't even guess what to do." he answered and began poking away at the device. Sam, Jazz and Tucker began explaining and telling the story of Dark Danny, and when Danny returned to the group and learned what was happening, he added in details that the others didn't know. Caleb listened, clapping the panel on the Specter Deflector shut. "No. Dan would not have that immunity. He lost it all the moment he was ripped from Danny's body." the android replied flatly, "There was a moment he could have taken back the humanity and regain that immunity, but like all maddened villains, he never saw that. And with Danny's death, any hope of Phantom's return to normalcy, any chance at becoming immune to all weapons again, died with him." He set the belt down and propped his cheek on his fist, resting his elbow on the table.

"Without Danny, Dan is pure ectoplasm, as subject to the effects of ghost weapons as anyone else. This Pummeler thing that doesn't work on Dan but works on Danny; that's a weapon that affects mana. It worked on Danny because he still has mana, but Dan is immune because he has none." he remarked, watching the group's pale faces, "That means that sometime in that future, somebody figured out the ectoplasm-mana difference. Bit too late to make it work on Dan, but somebody got the idea."

"There a way of making them work on mana-based ghosts without hurting me too?" Danny asked, shifting the subject to avoid more painful memories from resurfacing. Caleb winced.

"Yes and no. I can make the weapons to use Elements that affect only ghosts and monsters that run on mana, but that requires mana crystals for best results, the same things I run on. I'm having a difficult time getting my hands on those lately." he replied, "They won't affect anything that has an ectoplasm signature, like those modern ghosts, but if those weapons hit Danny, they'll touch on the mana part of him. At best, I think they'll change the Element of his attacks, applying random Elements to him. At worst, they'll make him sick and a sickness that affects mana requires a cure that I'm not sure I can create."

"So how do we fight these ghosts that use mana?" Sam asked and Danny shot her a look.

"What do you mean 'we'? It's just me and Caleb that are going into this. Him to deal with the mana ghosts and me to deal with the modern ones." he demanded. Jazz jumped to her feet from where she sat on a stool.

"No way, Danny! We have to keep you safe! If _you_ fight, we **all** fight! This King guy wants you too; if Caleb's busy holding off mana ghosts, who's gonna deal with the modern ones, and who's gonna make sure you aren't kidnapped in the middle of a fight?" she declared, "We've stuck by you all this time! We're not abandoning you!"

The halfa simply stared at the determined glares on each of his friends' faces and the same on on his sister's. He turned to the android for help, but Caleb only smiled and gave a weak half-shrug.

"I usually listen to _my_ big sister. But then, my sister could pull bigger magic tricks out of her bag than me, so..." he shook his head, still smiling, "Remember who you are, what gives you strength and resolve. Wouldn't it be better to have the ones who love you and give you that strength nearby to continue supporting you? When they're far away and out of reach, it's hard to remember why you fight." Danny scowled, green eyes glowing vividly.

"They could **die**! I'm not letting them go into something that could kill them! They mean too much to me!" he snapped.

"You sound like me. I didn't want you to go for the same reason." Caleb sniffed. "Something I figured out after many thousands of years seeing this same stupid argument; in the end, you'll let them follow you. In the end, you will want them with you in the fight and you'll be glad even as you are horrified. Because, in the end, all of you know deep inside that you'd rather die together, doing what you could to help, than die apart and never know what could have been." He stood and walked between Danny and his friends and family, watching the halfa as he paused by Sam. The android reached out carefully and placed a fingertip under the Goth's chin. "Tell me, really; do you want to fly into battle alone, possibly die out there, and never let her know where the strength of your power _truly_ lies? Never hear from her that which would give you strength to face the discrimination of the world for years to come?"

The look of confusion on Sam's face was almost comical, but the blush across her cheeks and the tentative bite of her lower lip seemed to drive the point across. Danny just stared at her, then swallowed and sat down, turning away from the group. It wasn't fair; the man knew to play his emotions against him, knew the words to say and the actions to make that made it so hard for him to deny the truth. But to have Sam and Tucker and Jazz enter that evil book with him... he couldn't! They didn't have ghost powers, they didn't have the protection and the combat abilities he did!

But Sam... what would happen if she fell victim to the Book? If Tucker fell, he'd be enraged; if Jazz fell, sorrow would overwhelm him, but Sam...

Somehow, someway, a part of Danny knew... if Sam fell... so would he. The Hero would fall if Sam died.

But what if **he** died first? What if she lived on and he didn't? Pain and regret and emotions he couldn't even begin to recognize and acknowledge would assault him until his final breath went cold.

Danny curled up in the chair, uttering a soft, pained moan as he hid his face behind the protection of his legs and arms. The moments of silence as the group waited tensely for a response was near agonizing, and this particular reaction was paining to see. It was, in every sense of the phrase, tearing Danny apart.

Finally, he uncurled, giving the teens and teacher the most hardened glare any of them had ever seen.

"Fine. They can come, they can fight with us, they can be the heroes I already knew they are..." he growled, eyes darting from each of his friends to the redhead, "But I promise you... I _swear_ it on everything that matters to me in this world... if _any_ one of them falls... if even **one** of them doesn't make it back to this world with me... I will kill myself." The group gasped in shock and horror as Caleb merely tightened his mouth. "I **won't** let Dark Danny exist. I'll find a way to end both Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom if any of them falls." the halfa hissed.

"Ugh! Why the hell do all Heroes say stupid crap like that?" Caleb griped in irritation, "Idiot! I thought you were reading ahead! Didn't you even **get** the idea of Lloyd's ideals?" He threw a hand up in exasperation. "Fine. Make your stupid vow and I'll make mine. No matter what happens in the coming battle, I will **not** allow you to give your life up meaninglessly!" Danny shot him a glare and Caleb only ignored it, shaking his head with a sigh. "I hope the Soul Stone gets here soon. The longer the Book has control of the town, the harder it will be to traverse the gate to the Altar of Darkness." the android muttered and blinked. He tilted his head, studying the halfa before them. "Also, my internal processors have finished a series of tests on your ectomana signature and bio-readings. It's strange; why didn't you tell me you had Ice Element abilities within your body? That should be capable of attacking the monsters, but it won't be as effective as a true Light Element ability. The majority of the monsters, as well as the King himself, are Dark Element."

"So, I still don't have the ability to really dish out damage to those mana ghosts, huh?" Danny sighed, "That sucks; we're going to be too dependent on you to get past them if that's the case!"

"We each have an extra Fenton Thermos, so we can use the light from them to hit ghosts." Sam pointed out and reached into her backpack, pulling the dull metal device free, "As long as we don't accidentally aim it in Danny's direction, we can let these babies loose on the ghosts and wipe 'em out ourselves!" The mythology teacher blinked at them and grinned, snatching the Thermos from her hand.

"Ah! I _thought_ I missed one! Tucker, gimme yours; I'll modify them so they don't end up sucking Danny into them." he remarked brightly, "And Jazz, that Fenton Peeler you like so much? I'll need that, too. Anyway, even though Danny can't use the correct innate Element to make his attacks connect, there is a work-around to it. I just need to get some stuff from my hotel room." The halfa flew out of the chair and hovered near the ceiling, grinning.

"Tell me where it is and I'll go get your stuff. It'll be easy to fly in and out while invisible. And with all the ghost hunters at Casper High, no one's around to bother me while I'm flying!" he remarked. Caleb handed him an address card and he took off, vanishing through the house. Sam tapped her lower lip thoughtfully.

"If there are ghost hunters at school, then Valerie must be there too." she mused aloud, "How are we supposed to get to the library with Danny if all those hunters are all over the place? We so much as take a few steps in there and somebody's bound to take a shot at him." She watched the android work on the two Thermoses set before him. "Any ideas on how to smuggle Danny past those guys?" she asked dryly.

"Magic. If magic can't get past a barrier of ectoplasm, then logically, ectotechnology can't get past a barrier of magic." he replied absently, "I'll just wrap him in protective magic and he won't get hit by anything for a short while. Now, go wait for him upstairs; I'm splitting my attention between this and designs for some Element-based weapons and you guys are distracting."

* * *

The room was bare.

That seemed to describe Caleb's hotel room perfectly in Danny's thoughts as he walked through it, the soft carpeting muffling the sounds of his boots stepping across the floor. There was no bed, the kitchen was empty, the bathroom untouched, only a single table and chair, a small television, a lamp and several candles. The place looked as though it were the home of a down and out college student. As he noticed each thing that gave him shivers about the teacher being non-human, Danny tried to apply reasonable excuses for them.

No bed; Caleb's a robot, robots don't sleep.

"But he looks so tired sometimes. And wasn't he daydreaming in class that one time?" Danny murmured to himself and looked around a bit more.

Empty kitchen; robots don't eat, so they don't need food and utensils.

"He cooks when he's upset. That's sort of a human thing." Danny excused and looked towards one wall, a puzzled look on his face, "And there's that giant fork from last night. Where the heck did he get that? A novelty shop?"

Empty closets and no clothes dressers; the costume Caleb wore could change its appearance whenever he wanted. Why would he need to buy or wear other clothes?

"How does his costume even do that?" Danny wondered, floating towards the table at last to study the piles of papers and large brown satchel. He paused and placed his fingertips to the 'DP' symbol on his chest, "Maybe it's like my costume, where it changes into my clothes whenever I think of my human self. What does he think of when he turns those green clothes into that black outfit?" He reached out, picked up a photo and turned it to see the image.

A young man, blonde with hair swept aside to hide one of his blue eyes, was laughing as he held a woman with long black hair close to him. Caleb wasn't in the image, but Danny guessed that he had to have been the one who took the picture. The couple was dressed in a tuxedo and a white wedding dress, surrounded by flowers and a regal-looking older man who had to be the blonde's father and a small boy with dark hair and eyes the color of burned honey. Danny turned it over and read the neat little handwriting in the back. There were two sets of writing, one in strange little symbols he couldn't recognize, the other in perfect English.

"'Wedding of Adam Voraci and Ginger Spicewood, First Day of Spring's Third Month, 1960 BT. Best time ever. Still can't believe Wren cooked the whole feast himself; he never really could retire the whole Wonder Chef thing, no matter what he said about it.'" Danny read to himself and blinked, turning the photo back over, "So this guy was Caleb's best friend? We don't even look alike and he thinks of this guy when he looks at me." He tilted his head, sudden understanding dawning on him. "That's how he got the black outfit. It's a funeral outfit for him. These people have been dead for ages and ages... he must miss them an awful lot."

He set the photo down and rustled through the other sheets, ignoring several more photos to keep from dredging up more questions and possibly painful realizations. A majority of the sheets were covered in the same strange symbols as the ones on the back of the wedding picture along with some detailed sketches of buildings, objects, relics and people. There didn't seem to be anything that could help him recognize paperwork for building weapons to combat mana ghosts. Danny froze when one sweep of his hands uncovered a portion of paper that held a partial sketch of Tucker on it.

"What the-?" the halfa breathed and plucked the paper free, finding it clipped to a small stack of sheets. He uncovered the complete set and sat down, looking through them.

Tucker's 'profile' took about three of the small pad-sized sheets. There were several small sketches of him, one a full-bodied sketch while the rest were partial sketches of Tucker holding his PDA, smiling, frowning, looking thoughtful, looking scheming; and every sheet had still more writing in those strange symbols. Danny set them aside, then blinked at the ones for Sam. Sketches of her laughing, scowling, daydreaming, even one where her eyes where gazing off at something and a soft blush highlighted her cheeks. Danny swallowed a sudden lump in his throat and shook his head. There was a full body sketch of her standing there in a hall, looking sour at something. And still more strange writing was wrapped on the outer edges of each drawing, as if to describe the picture or something. Sam took four pages to complete her 'profile'.

The last set brought a sick feeling to Danny's stomach. His own 'profile', but the name at the top of the first page had both identities written in full; Danny Fenton/Danny Phantom. There were two full bodied sketches there, his human self and his ghost self, standing side by side with the same rebellious expressions on their faces. The writing seemed a lot more detailed than the others and the sketches were random snippets, a grinning Fenton here, a scowling Phantom there, partial renderings of his using the Ghost Ray in Phantom form, a small doodle of Fenton reading a book with an expression of wonder on his face. This went on for roughly four pages, then it suddenly switched to a rough sketch of what appeared to be a vine-covered wall with tiny symbols carved into it.

"What the hell is this?" Danny muttered, curiosity burning to find out. The sketch of the wall had writings around it as well, and finally there was some English mixed in with the symbols, "_'Light and Darkness, the eternal pair. Darkness hath her beauty; his Light, just and fair. Figure of Death who walks in Life brings chaos to balance with Death's living wife. Once joined together, the Veil shall part. The Seal is broken by the wings of the heart. Bridge the Chasm with the wings of the soul. The Veil is renewed and the union made whole. Angel fallen from Life and Death, who swears a vow with every breath; Heroes end when they meet Fate, yet one shall stand within the Gate. Lock and Key forever rest, sealed within non-mortal breast. It passes through the family line. Guard the blood, Angel of Stolen Time.'_"

A sudden ring of a phone was enough to make the halfa jump and shriek, scattering papers all over. He snatched at them as they fluttered through the air, glimpsed another sketch of himself with what appeared to be technical scribbles pointing at him, then dove for the satchel. There was a cell phone going off inside and Danny debated answering it or ignoring it, trying hard not to think of his ghostly heart racing fast enough to mirror his normal heartbeat. Finally, he decided to risk it and answer the call.

"H-hello?" he stammered out.

"Caleb? Is that you?" a young girl's voice asked, "Mommy couldn't make the call; her phone ran out of minutes again." There was a giggling sound, and Danny could hear playful antics in the background. "Mommy said to tell you that the rock didn't get sent right, so she's gonna use the moon to drop it off. She wants to know if you can make a place for her to drop it."

"Uh? Um, can your mommy send it here with magic?" Danny answered in confusion. The girl huffed in exasperation.

"Mommy's already using magic! She doesn't wanna hit something by accident, that's why she wants a big place to hit so it doesn't go boom!" she scolded, "She wants a uh... wait, Kraya, what's that thing that makes people go from one place to another? That thing on _Star Trek_ that does the sparkles and stuff?"

"Teleporter? She wants a **teleporter** set up in Amity Park?" Danny asked in shock.

"Yeah! 'Porter! One of those! Mommy wants one there so she can hit it and not have to fly. Mommy's a bad flier." the girl responded brightly, "Guess what, guess what? Shihna's moving to America! Isn't that cool? We can play together now!" There was a fumbling of the phone and some younger voices bickering before the phone returned to the possession of the girl. "Leave me alone, Kraya! I wanna talk to Caleb! You're coming to my birthday, right? You promised you'd take me flying and show me the big tree!"

"Um, sure!" Danny squeaked, "Teleporter and birthday. Got it." He scratched his head, "Uh, let's pretend I totally forgot your name and your mommy's name. Can you tell me who you are?"

"Collet! My name's Collet! Mommy is Breia. Did you forget Daddy's name too?" the girl asked, "'Cause if you did, it's Lloyd!" Danny gaped, holding the phone even more tightly upon hearing the name.

"Lloyd Irving?" he cried.

"No, no. Lloyd Aileon, silly! You changed our name, remember?" Collet corrected him, "I'm gonna go watch cartoons now. Get the 'porter ready for Mommy!" With that, the little girl hung up. Danny pulled the phone away, staring at it with more questions than answers in his head. Finally, he shook his head, stuffed everything he could see into the satchel and slipped the sheet with the translated poem under the collar of his suit. He'd question the android about it later. Lifting the satchel, Danny took a moment to wonder over the sketches, then shook his head and flew out of the room. He had a message to deliver.


	7. Chapter 7

7

The influence of the Book of the Underworld was definitely spreading. Danny shook his head to try to get the voice out of his head, but no matter how fast he flew or how hard he tried to think of other things, it kept butting into his thoughts.

_"You of the line of the land of the dead, why have you not come to the service of thy rightful King?"_ the voice of the Ruler of the Underworld, Nebilim, demanded, _"Your power is wasted in the land of the living."_

"You remind me way too much of Vlad, you know that?" Danny growled, "Back off and leave me alone!" His house wasn't that far off now; if he sped up a little more, he'd make it in before dark.

_"I've heard tell that you are in the service of the Fallen Angel. I will have to amend this."_the voice mused aloud, a faintly irritated tone coloring the words. Danny blinked and glanced over his shoulder reflexively. That sounded familiar; didn't he hear or read about that somewhere?

"The Fallen Angel?" he echoed and shook his head, "Listen, you! I'm not serving anybody! Not Vlad, not you and definitely not some fallen angel!" He scowled at the air. "So stay out of my head and get ready to get toasted!" That may have been enough to stave off the voice; Danny got no more comments for the rest of the trip.

* * *

He wished he could say the same of his friends and family when he finally returned home. They all wanted to know what a robot would furnish his apartment with.

"Is it covered wall to wall with the latest in computerized network technology?" Tucker blurted out eagerly, "Or lots of robot parts? BIG robot parts?"

"Ancient relics and magic books, spell stones and runes all over the place! Right, Danny?" Sam cheered, waving her fists under her chin excitedly.

"No way, a scholar would have wall to wall shelves of books and historical documents!" Jazz put in with a smile. Danny looked at them all, and shook his head, grinning.

"You guys are so wrong. The room was pretty much empty except for a bag of stuff and some papers and that weird giant fork he was carrying around last night." he replied and pulled the sheets with the profiles loose from the satchel. He handed them to Sam. "Take a look. Caleb's up to something involving the three of us." The Goth took the papers in hand and shuffled through them, a puzzled look on her face.

"What's this writing? I can't read it." she murmured, studying the sheets with her image on them, "But he draws really well. I don't remember him staring at me for some of these, though." Tucker pulled his PDA free and tapped at the buttons, looking at the sheets with her.

"He's a robot; perfect computerized memory, remember?" he told her and glanced down at the screen, "I'm gonna run these letters through a language database. Maybe I can find a translator for them." Jazz looked a little miffed.

"There isn't a set for me?" she pouted, "I feel left out. Aren't I a part of the whole 'Danny Phantom' secret?" Her younger brother shrugged bashfully and dove through the floor to deliver the satchel. Sam pulled free one of the sheets with Danny's image on it. She frowned thoughtfully.

"This looks a little familiar. It feels like this is something really important. The writing... haven't I seen this somewhere before?" she murmured. Tucker pressed at several more buttons and sighed, adjusting his glasses.

"No such language shows up in the database. Maybe it's a secret code?" he remarked as Jazz plucked one paper out of Sam's hand. She turned it over, puzzled.

"It looks too well written to be a code, but then we are dealing with a robot. What languages did you check?" she asked the dark-skinned boy, who continued tapping at the keys.

"The usual ones; slang, foreign languages, colloquial variations, even Latin. Nothing." Tucker sighed.

"Try languages based on mythical races." Jazz pointed out and blinked as the two younger teens stared at her, "What? Haven't you heard of _Lord of the Rings_? They have several languages in there that are somewhat invented for elves and hobbits and dwarves and stuff. Caleb was built with technology made by half-elves, so maybe he knows languages that elves might have used." She gave a little shrug, a sheepish expression on her face. Tucker lifted an eyebrow, but set to work on typing into the PDA as Sam dug into her backpack, searching for the textbook.

* * *

Danny found the android humming to himself as he worked on several sheets of paper. He glanced at the sheets and spotted additional writing and a full sketch of Jazz. So much for being left out; the redhead now had her added to the group.

"What exactly are you doing with that?" he blurted out and bit his lip, "Darn it! I shouldn't have said that..." Caleb lifted his head in surprise, eyes wide.

"I didn't hear you come in! What-?" he cried and yelped, slamming his hands over the sheets to hide them, "You weren't supposed to see these! Argh! My notes at the apartment! You saw those?" Danny floated back defensively as the android's hair seemed to flair slightly in anger. "You were snooping around! I said to get my pack and that's **it**; what gave you the right to poke around in my personal notes?"

"Why the heck did you make them about us to begin with?" Danny shot back and threw the satchel at him, "Here. You also got a call from some girl named Collet." Caleb grabbed the sack and looked surprised. "She says that the Soul Stone couldn't be sent, so her mother is going to use the moon to drop it here. She wants a teleporter set up for it." The halfa scratched his head. "That got me confused. How is a woman going to use the moon to drop a stone on a teleporter?" The android groaned and rested his head in his hands.

"Oh, Goddess, Breia, you don't know how to operate the transport system." he moaned, "I have to call her back and tell her to let her husband do it!"

"She's out of minutes. So, tell me, how is the moon involved in this? We've sent people up there and it's a big rock, nothing more." Danny pointed out as Caleb dug through his satchel and brought out the cell phone, dialing a number and putting it to his ear.

"Not _that_moon. The other one. Earth has two moons." he replied and lifted a finger, "And before you start babbling about it, no, you can't see it, it's cloaked; no, it doesn't affect the world because it's shielded by magic to keep it from doing that; and yes, I knew the whole time it was there because the original Lloyd planted it there ages ago to make sure he could keep an eye on it." He winced suddenly. "Damn, busy. I'll have to text him then." he grumbled and tapped at the keys of the phone. "And don't mess with my notes anymore." Danny pulled the slip of paper from his collar and held it out.

"What about this one? It was clipped with the notes you made on me." he asked and Caleb glanced at it, did a quick double take and snatched it from his hand.

"I've been looking for this for a while now! I found this carved into a garden wall in an old English manor on the British Isles some sixty years back." he remarked and smoothed the paper out, "I've been trying to decipher it ever since." He studied it for a moment, then shoved it into the pack before finishing his message. "I hope Lloyd gets this. Last thing I need is for that stone to wind up in the middle of Missouri."

"Or Wisconsin." Danny added and watched the android pull several tools and blocks of metal from the pack. "So, what are you doing? Is it something about helping me hit those mana ghosts?"

"Yeah. I remembered that Lloyd from the Symphonian time didn't have the ability to use magic, either. Well, not until he became an angel." Caleb remarked, "But he used certain stones to add Elements to his weapons that enabled him to inflict additional damage to his enemies. These Elemental Quartz still exist and I can get access to them very easily. I can create accessories that will apply the Quartz to your attacks so that it infuses them with that particular Element. That way you can use the Element and it won't affect your mana, averting any potential illnesses that could occur from using mana crystals on someone like you."

"And that will let me hit mana ghosts?" Danny guessed and received a nod in response. He hovered around the android and tilted his head. "That blonde guy in the wedding picture... Adam, right?"

"Wren." Caleb corrected softly, working on one of the metal blocks.

"It said Adam on the back of the photo." the halfa pointed out flatly.

"That's his real name, but I always called him Wren." Caleb sighed, "What about him?" Danny finally sat on the table, gazing down at his boots somberly.

"Is he the reason why you wear black?" he asked quietly. The android continued working, silent. "I mean, sure, there were tons of other people you were friends with and they passed away, and I know you were really sad when they died. But this one... he was really special to you, wasn't he?" Danny tilted his head, still gazing at his feet. "Your best friend, right? A chef. I bet he's the one who gave you that big fork." he murmured. Still nothing. "He's probably the one who taught you to cook, too. That food you made earlier was really good." Danny brought his legs up, wrapping his arms around them sadly. "You must have been hurt when he died, and you probably started wearing black ever since. With all the power you had and still have, you could have saved him, could have stopped him from dying. Or you could have just lashed out at the world in pain." he murmured, "So, why not? That reality I saw, when my friends and family died because of me... I lashed out at the world."

"I could have stopped it, true. But to do that would condemn my best friend to a fate crueler than death." Caleb muttered, "Rather than force him to exist in a personal hell just so I could have him forever, I let him go to heaven with the promise that we'd see each other again one day." He gave a half-shrug. "I wore black to mourn his death, and I still wear it because the pain can never really go away. I'm not human, my memories can't fade with time and let me lessen the pain. The day I attended his funeral; it lives on in me in perfect clarity." He sighed and checked the strip of metal he carved from the block for imperfections. "I can still smell the flowers Ginger placed on the casket, hear the cries of the people who loved and cared for him, feel the wind that brought the rain soon after. I wanted to die right then. Life just didn't seem as bright without my dearest friend."

"So, you didn't commit suicide and you didn't turn on the world. Why not?" Danny pressed.

"Because he loved it. Wren loved the world and he loved life; to harm either one in any way would be to betray him." Caleb remarked and shot him a look, "It's late and the stone will take a longer time to get here if that message didn't get through. Go to bed. I'm sure Sam and Tucker will know enough to head home themselves." Danny flew up from the table and through the ceiling of the basement. After a moment, he stuck his head through to look at him.

"I'll let them know to go home anyway. And that Wren dude must have been really lucky to have you as a friend." he pointed out quietly. Caleb shook his head.

"No. I was lucky to have _him_. He taught me to love the world and everything on it, to protect it all equally. I'm still here because of him." the android replied and began etching marks into the band of metal, "Bed. Now." Danny made a face.

"You sound like my mom." he griped and vanished through the ceiling.

* * *

Tucker didn't make much noise when told he needed to get home. Too busy with tapping at his PDA, holding one sheet of the notes in his free hand, he was oblivious to Danny's hold on him as he flew both the boy and Sam back to their respective homes. Instead of flying through Tucker's window, the halfa simply landed nearby and set him down, head tilting curiously.

"What are you doing?" he finally asked as Tucker paused to scratch his head in mild frustration.

"I'm trying to translate these markings, but so far I haven't found a mythical language to match it. Jazz suggested using _Lord of the Rings_as a base and see if anything hits." the boy replied and shook his head, "I got a few words out of it, but they sound like gibberish. Maybe it's using a different dialect?" Danny blinked, peering down at the screen in his friend's hand.

"You're using **that** as the basis for translating a language that a robot made up?" he asked incredulously, "Tucker, what if it's just a bunch of random stuff that mean something to him but not to anyone else? What if it really _is_gibberish?"

"And what if it's not?" Sam interrupted, reading through several late chapters of the mythology book, "Look at this! I thought those markings seemed familiar! There's pictures of monuments and documents written in that same language in this book!" She held it out to show both Tucker and Danny, "See? If this language really existed long ago, then Caleb must have made a record of it and a translation key. He wouldn't be able to resist it, not if he's really gung-ho on archiving everything about the world!"

"You mean I have to get access to the translation key from him?" Tucker cried in shock, "How? You heard what Adam said in school; magitechnology and our technology are incompatible! There's **no way**my PDA can hack into Caleb's systems!"

"You don't have to hack Caleb, just his archive. The Archives of the Twin Blades is on the Internet, too, right? See if you can get past its security and find the translation key." Sam pointed out flatly and pulled several more sheets of the notes from her pocket, waving them at the boy's face. "I want to know what these say! About you, about me, and especially about Danny! There's gotta be a reason why he took notes on all of us, especially Danny's ghost form!" Tucker grabbed the papers and sighed, a look of displeasure on his face.

"Okay, okay! I'll snoop around the Archives' online site and see what I can dig up. What are you gonna be doing? You can't expect me to do _all_the work!" he grumbled. Sam tapped the book in her hands.

"I'm going to read some more on this and see if there are any clues in here to what we're going to be up against." she replied and shot Danny a worried look, "If this King of the Underworld guy gets stronger with every person it kidnaps, then how long will it be before it's strong enough to break out of the Book into our world? And will it be strong enough to kidnap Danny too?" The halfa scowled at the thought, shaking his head emphatically.

"No way! Nebilim can toot his horn all he wants but he's not getting me to join him!" he griped and put a finger to his mouth in thought, eyebrows furrowing together. "Although, he kinda worried me a bit when he said I was working for the Fallen Angel." he admitted quietly. Tucker looked between the two and smirked.

"You two can handle the whole spiritual part of this thing. I'm gonna go do what I do best; total techno-takeover!" he exclaimed and ran for his front door, laughing. Sam watched him leave with a scowl, then turned back to the halfa.

"Fallen Angel? We're working with an android who is known by these monsters as the Guardian Angel of Heroes. Do you think they mean Caleb?" she asked as Danny carefully picked her up bridal style and took to the air, heading for her mansion next. He gave a small shrug, but the worried look didn't leave his face.

"He's not fallen, though. Aren't fallen angels usually evil?" he wondered aloud. Sam bit her lip, thinking carefully.

"When angels fall from God's grace, they usually become demons. Caleb doesn't strike me as a demonic person." she replied.

"He can't be fallen; he's got special reasons to protect the world." Danny agreed, a stubborn expression on his face that only appeared when he was set on one idea and refused to budge. Sam had seen it several times before; anytime Danny Phantom, or even Danny Fenton, got that face, nothing short of a divine command could sway him from his ideals, and he was known to ignore those too. "His best friend loved the world with all his heart and out of his loyalty to his friend, Caleb's gonna protect the world for as long as he lives! Fallen angels wouldn't do that, Sam." The Goth sighed as she held closer to him, both to stave off the cold night air and tap into that comforting aura of confidence.

Fallen angels had hidden agendas, and could appear to do one thing while secretly doing another. No matter what she said or learned about it, if she tried to talk to Danny about the idea that the teacher could be hiding ulterior motives while he was in this state, the phantom would immediately shut her out. It was strange; when it came to all the people they met in Amity, and all the ghosts, she and Tucker and Danny could tell within a matter of hours whether they were friends or enemies, if their potential was set to good or evil. When it came to Caleb, there was no real way of knowing. His words, his actions, the emotions surrounding him swayed back and forth in a pendulum, confusing those around him and providing a wall of protection that prevented anyone from truly understanding him.

Was this the power of perfect neutrality?

"We're here." Danny murmured softly, slowly descending to the sidewalk near her home. Sam held onto him tighter, one part of her wishing the flight had been longer, the other glad that she was soon to be alone to sort out her thoughts and feelings about everything. "Sam? You okay? You look kinda sad..." his voice called to her and her mind raced for a response. It snatched at the memory of his earlier vow and she used that.

"What you said today, about what you would do if any of us didn't make it in that book... did you really mean it?" Sam asked quietly as she was set down onto the firm concrete. She turned to look up at the ghost boy floating there. He looked slightly guilty for a moment, then his face hardened and he nodded. "But, if you did try to... kill yourself... won't that just do the opposite? Make you fully ghost, like Dan?" she pressed, "You don't have to die for any of us, Danny! If you do, then everyone will suffer for it!"

"I'll find a way to make sure none of me exists if any of my friends die..." Danny murmured and reached out hesitantly. His expression became odd, some strange mix of guilt, confusion, and longing. The Goth found herself pushing up onto her toes, bringing herself just a little closer to his outstretched fingers. He pulled them back suddenly and the expression was gone, a sad, lonely light in his eyes replacing it. "I'd better get home." Danny whispered, "I'm sorry. That's the choice I made, and I'm sticking to it. If... if you don't make it..." He shut his eyes and vanished right there, an invisible form that sped into the air so quickly the leaves on the trees rustled, the only evidence of his departure. Sam brushed back hair that had swept up from the rush, gazing sadly up at the stars.

"Danny, don't you know how much it hurts me to hear you say that?" she murmured, "If Caleb can live on after the death of someone he loved, why can't you do the same? It's not fair to make everyone suffer because someone you care about dies and you refused to be strong enough to move on."

* * *

Jazz was setting down the phone as her younger brother flew into the room, reverting to human form at last. She looked towards him and frowned slightly. There was a forlorn expression on his face, as though he had gone through something that didn't quite go as well as he'd hoped. A feeling of sympathy and an urge to comfort her injured sibling came over her and she moved to wrap her arms around him in a hug.

"It's okay, Danny. Everything will be okay." she murmured, pressing her cheek against his soft, black hair, "Mom and Dad called and said for us to activate the Ghost Shield and sit tight. The ghost hunters are having trouble fighting the ghosts in the school, but they noticed that one of them is doing pretty well." When that didn't get a response, she went on. "Casper High's been evacuated, and there's no school until the ghost problem is done. So, you don't have to worry about homework while we're fighting ghosts. Mom said that if things don't turn around soon, they'll be coming back to pick up some stronger weapons." She smiled amid the strands of raven-black, briefly inhaling the scent of the night wind. "If they do that, then the changes Caleb made will be in place and they can fight the mana ghosts. You'll be safe from them when we get into the school. Isn't that wonderful?"

"Yeah..." Danny finally agreed, voice cracking as his body began trembling, "Great..." Jazz pulled away and turned him around to face her, worried at that kind of answer.

"Danny, are you okay? What's wrong?" she asked softly and wiped away a tear with her thumb, "Why are you crying?"

"I'm not! I'm just tired! Leave me alone!" Danny yelled and raced for the stairs, slamming his bedroom door once he was safely inside. Jazz waited a few minutes, then headed upstairs after him, knocking gently at his door. "I said, go away! I'm going to sleep!" he shouted from behind the wall of oak.

"I know, but just remember that we all love you and care about you. If anything's hurting you, you can talk to any of us about it." Jazz told him through the door, "I'm your big sister, remember? We can talk about anything you want. No one else has to know."

"I'm... fine... Just leave me alone... please..." the teen replied, a half-sob cutting off anything more he might have said. Jazz gave the door a saddened look, then began making her way to the Ops Center to activate the shield that would protect Fenton Works from ghost attacks. It would be a good test of Caleb's alterations if several of the mana ghosts did come after them, though for now, a peaceful night was all Jazz wished for her younger brother.

* * *

Come morning, there was the sound of tapping at Danny's window. The boy shifted in his sleep, then lifted his head, gazing in a half-daze at the glass. Tucker clung to the tree branch for dear life, his eyes wide with the idea of being so high up, while Sam rapped at his window again, a strangely determined expression on her face.

Still in a fog, Danny dragged himself out of bed and opened the window, allowing his two friends to tumble into the room before heading back to collapse face-down on the furniture piece. There was silence for a moment, then he felt arms shaking his shoulders, trying to get him up again.

"C'mon, Danny! We have to talk! Tucker got the translation key for those notes!" Sam declared in a hushed shout, "We can't let Caleb know what we learned, so we had to come through your window!"

"It was a pain getting to that key, though. Security was mondo tough, but still nothing Fryer Tuck can't get through." Tucker added, watching as Danny rolled over and pulled his hands down over his face. "You look like a wreck. Man, what happened to you after you dropped us off? Ran into more mana ghosts?" he added in confusion.

"Bad night sleep." Danny managed to say through his fingers. He sat up and rubbed his head, further disheveling already messy hair. He gave a yawn, rubbed his eyes, then blinked at the two of them. "Uh, 'morning?" the halfa finally remarked, "Okay, so what'd you find out?"

"I'm hoping to get a good breakfast out of this. My parents are freaking out. They put the house on lockdown and wouldn't let me out. I had to sneak out and leave the Alibi-O-Matic on snore mode." the dark-skinned boy told him, "I didn't get much sleep, trying to get that key, so something hearty or deep-fried will do."

"Fine. I'll make something in a bit. What'd you learn?" Danny grumbled, dimly aware that he'd have to change clothes soon. He'd fallen asleep in the same shirt and jeans he'd been wearing the previous day.

"Most of the notes are observations and theories about us." Sam began, bringing out the sheets and spreading them on Danny's bed, "His thoughts and opinions about us and all. Caleb wrote that Tucker had potential to be an excellent magitechnician, and that he thinks the way I act is a defensive mechanism."

"Defensive? Against what?" Danny asked incredulously, "You'd beat the crud out of anything if you wanted to!" Sam bit her lip and shrugged evasively.

"Some things you can't fend off with fists, y'know?" she muttered and shook her head, "Anyway, the notes he wrote on you were mostly about the way you act and stuff, like he was trying to analyze you. Something you did or said the first time we were in class together must have gotten him interested in you."

"But he didn't know I was Danny Phantom at the time, so why put my normal self and my ghost self together on the same sheets?" the halfa pointed out.

"He didn't." Tucker interrupted, "They were on separate sheets of paper, and his observations then were written as if he were confused. He saw similarities between Fenton and Phantom, but there were differences too. He wrote a few theories trying to figure both of your sides out, but when he learned that you were both, he clipped the sheets together and changed the title." He pointed at the top of one sheet and Danny peered at it. Faint marks were still etched into the paper. "He erased the name 'Danny Phantom' on this sheet, then wrote it on the Fenton sheet. Any notes he's made after that refer to both Fenton and Phantom on the same sheets."

"And what about the sketches?" Danny asked, still puzzled over the situation and Sam's reasons for a 'defense'.

"He was trying to get our likenesses worked out." Sam put in, her eyes widening, "How we react to situations, how we look normally, how we change expressions based on different things... Caleb wanted to know how we moved and acted and talked, so he took notes and made sketches about that." Danny looked even more confused, picking up several of the sketches.

"I don't get it. If he was doing that, then why are the sketches he made of me less detailed than the ones he made of you and Tucker and Jazz?" he asked. Tucker lifted an eyebrow.

"Caleb's got notes on Jazz?" the techie questioned. Danny nodded. "He's thorough. I just thought he missed one, but I guess not."

"Caleb was distracted by this." Sam interrupted to answer the halfa's question. She held up the sketch of Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom standing side by side, writing surrounding the two rebellious-looking teens. "The sketches of you doing things were done quickly, like he was trying to capture how you were acting at that moment, not recording how you would change reactions. And based on those quick sketches, he compiled them into these full figure drawings."

"They look like they could come to life." Danny agreed carefully, eyeing the pencil work. Tucker nodded.

"That's because they were meant to." he explained, "That writing around them, those are measurements and lists of materials. That sheet isn't just a set of notes about you; it's a makeshift blueprint for making a copy of you." Danny dropped the sheet and leaped back from them.

**"What?"**he yelled in alarm, forgetting that he was supposed to be asleep. Sam clamped her hand over his mouth, bringing a finger to her lips.

"Shhh! You wanna alert Caleb to the fact that we know what his notes say?" she hissed, "Calm down!" Danny jerked his head away, gasping.

"Calm down? How can I be _calm_when I've got a million-year-old android in my basement who's planning on building robot copies of me?" he snapped back, face paling, "Why the hell would he want to do that anyway?"

"Not just you, Danny; he's planning it for all of us." Tucker pointed out, picking up the other sheets, "The papers that have full body sketches of us have the same lists and measurements. Caleb is designing robot copies of each of us; you, me, Sam, and now Jazz." He shrugged. "He didn't write down why, though. So only he knows for sure why." The group stood in silence, letting that information sink into them. An ancient robot from mythological times, planning to build robotic duplicates of them all, including Danny Phantom... but for what purpose?

So absorbed in concerns and fears were they that the teens jumped and yelled in alarm when a loud thumping knocked against the floor.

"Hey! I hear more than one voice up there!" Caleb yelled, "Danny! Are your friends up there? I told you to take them home, not have a sleepover! You need rest!" The three friends looked at each other warily. Well, they had an excuse provided now. The only question now was whether or not to confront the android about their discovery.

"Let's not say anything." Sam decided suddenly and scooped up the sheets, "Danny, sneak these back into his pack so he won't know we had them. We'll pretend we had a sleepover." She shoved the sheets into the halfa's arms, then proceeded to muss up her hair. She shot Tucker a glare. "You too, Geek-Boy!" Tucker shot her a glare, then yawned.

"I don't need to pretend; I still wanna crash." he managed to say, but rumpled his shirt anyway. Danny nodded and went invisible to sneak the notes back. The door didn't open, so it was safe for the two remaining teens to assume he dropped through the floor insubstantially. Sam and Tucker took deep breaths, then headed out of the room to join the android downstairs.

* * *

They found the redhead in the kitchen with a spatula in one hand, gazing curiously at the floor as Jazz sat at the table, eating waffles. Caleb looked towards the newcomers with the same puzzled expression.

"Did Danny just sink down through the floors? I picked up his mana signature going down. That's a strange way of reaching the kitchen so fast." he remarked in confusion, "I think he missed. He's all the way in the basement." Sam plastered on a smile, looking somewhat sheepish.

"That's the thing about Danny and his powers. Sometimes they go off at random and all we can do is just stand around and hope no one noticed." she forced a laugh, rubbing her head, "He fell through his bed and the floors, but give him a sec and he'll be right up here!" She elbowed Tucker, "Go down there and help him up, Tucker, before he falls all the way through to China!" she added through clenched teeth. The African-American boy jumped with a start and scrambled for the stairs. Caleb cocked his head and rolled his eyes at last.

"I forgot how teenagers are. Gah, you all seem to be running off of nothing but hormones and sugar!" he declared and pointed the spatula at the table set with plates, glasses, utensils and laden with waffles, butter and juice. "Sit and eat! We have a lot of work to do today. The Soul Stone will be arriving in a few hours at Amity Park, and I need to get you all trained in how to fight these ghosts and monsters." he added with a grin, "I haven't had a good spar in ages; I'd like to test out my new inventions and see just how strong the famous Danny Phantom really is!"

"I smell waffles!" Danny yelled and came racing up the stairs with Tucker at his heels. The two boys said nothing else, only fell to the plates of food with all the rowdiness of a pack of wolves. Sam and Jazz stared at them, then rolled their gaze at the baffled android.

"Maybe I should run tests on how much that boy can pack away." Caleb remarked, bending to study him a little more carefully, "I didn't even use Wren's waffle recipe. Man, I **really** am out of touch with teens nowadays."

* * *

The basement was cleaner than it had been the previous night, and the teens looked around in wonder as Caleb hurried to the table he'd been working at all night. He picked up the Fenton Peeler and held it out to Jazz.

"Here. I adjusted it so that it can hit mana ghosts and not harm Danny." he told her with a grin and pointed at a button on the side of the device, "This switch will appear at the base of your neck when you're armored and activates a wide-beam mode for a greater range of attack. However, it drains power from the White Quartz I implanted a lot faster than the normal mode, so use it sparingly. When the Quartz breaks, I'll have to replace it." Jazz examined the weapon in her hands and slipped it into her purse with a smile.

"Thanks." she murmured as the android picked up the Fenton Thermoses and handed them to Sam and Tucker.

"I modified them to help you avoid sucking Danny into them. Also, I got these to help you fight, as I'm pretty sure the Fenton Thermos wasn't really designed to be a weapon." Caleb added and turned back to the table to grab a pair of items. He turned back and presented the first item to Sam. "This is a mythril dagger that a friend of mine once wielded. It's blessed by the Church of Martel's Dream, so it has an excellent advantage against the undead. I kinda thought it would suit you, Sam, so I'm giving it to you." he told her and smiled as she gingerly accepted the sheathed blade. Sam carefully pulled the dagger free and her eyes went wide at the shining metal blade, blood-red engravings etched along its length in a beautifully ornate design. "Take care of it and it'll serve you well."

"It's beautiful. I've never seen anything like this before, not even in the Goth shops online!" she breathed. Danny bent to examine the blade and hesitantly reached out to touch his finger to the dagger. Reflexively, he flinched, but relaxed as nothing happened to him. "Danny, be careful! Don't cut yourself on it!" Sam lectured him but softened, "Isn't it gorgeous? How cool is this?"

"It didn't hurt me." Danny wondered aloud, "I thought it would work against undead things, like ghosts and stuff."

"You're not undead; you're still alive." Caleb told him, "And it's blessed against evil; you're not evil."

"Not yet."

Danny yelped at the sudden smack over his head and looked up at Caleb in shock. The android was scowling fiercely.

"One more word about that from you and I'll give you the exact same treatment I gave Wren during his dark years!" he lectured and took a deep, calming breath. "Now, Sam, this dagger requires you to be close to the enemy. Do you think you can handle fast, stabbing attacks?" he changed subjects.

"I can run a heck of a lot better than Ghost-Boy here." Sam joked with a laugh and strapped the sheath and dagger to her waist on a belt the android provided for her. Tucker looked eager for his 'gift' and Caleb chuckled softly before revealing it to him.

"This crossbow is something I designed and built for myself using Lens technology, an ancient science that's along the same lines as magitechnology but using lenses made from the bioenergy of various monsters as a source of power to deal damage." the android explained, "It fires bolts of intense laser light and recharges using outside sources of light. Just squeeze the trigger to fire it off." He handed the gun and a holster to Tucker and smiled wider, lifting a finger to add another point. "You can keep this; I can always build myself another. It doesn't work on ectoplasmic ghosts, but it does great against mana ghosts and it's already tuned to phase through Danny, so don't worry about hitting him. However, it likes to work on humans and androids awfully well, so aim away from your friends and definitely away from me!"

"Sweet! Long-distance firepower! I'm so gonna make this my favorite toy." Tucker laughed, putting on the holster and adjusting the silvery handgun. Danny shifted uneasily on his feet.

"It won't hurt me, but it can hurt you guys? I don't know if it's a great idea to give it to Tucker then." he murmured worriedly, "I know he's got good aim and all; I mean, he shot off the straps that held me down in the North Mercy Hospital without a problem, but Mom's modified lipstick tube is a lot less lethal than that thing sounds like it could be."

"He'll be fine. Don't worry about it!" the android remarked dismissively and smiled hugely, "And that reminds me! I saved the best for last!" The group blinked as Caleb turned back to the table and picked up a pair of metal bands, presenting them to Danny. "These I made specifically to fit you." he murmured.

They were definitely metal bands, but made of a shining silver metal that seemed eerie and otherworldly. Delicate carvings decorated the bands, running on the edges and alongside a ring of shimmering white stones. They were fairly wide, the width of three fingers, and there seemed to be an air of archaic magic surrounding them. Danny reached out and touched a fingertip to one, jerking back in surprise as a sudden warmth pushed through from the metal into his hand.

"Whoa!" he breathed. Caleb grinned wider.

"Thought you'd say that. This is the latest in dwarven-enhanced magitechnology. These armlets are made from an alloy composed of mythril and aionis, the same alloy that makes up my body." he remarked proudly, "The metal and the charms engraved on them will channel the Light Element from the ring of Quartz directly into your arms and into your ectoplasmic beams, that Ghost Ray you use so often. As you use up each stone, the next one in the ring will activate, so I won't have to change out your Quartz as often as I will with Jazz." He traced his finger on some of the marks. "These had to be made just for you, to make sure the spells worked with your specific mana signature and allow you to still be able to use your Ice Element abilities. Otherwise, the power just passes over you and does nothing, or could shut off your Ice powers completely. Put them on your ghost form so they can tune themselves to that part of you. They'll remain on you even if you turn human, so they can be removed once everything's done." Danny accepted the armlets and called up the white ring orbiting his waistline, watching it split in two and transform him. Once it was complete, he slid the armlets on, one to each wrist, and flexed his limbs. The bands stayed put, melding into the white aura that surrounded his body perfectly.

"Nice." Sam commented with a smile.

"They feel warm." Danny added with a nod. The armlets' color fit with the contrasts of his haz-mat suit, silver and white to complement the black and white.

"That's from the Element. Light tends to have a comforting warmth to it that is attracted to other sources of Light-based mana." Caleb replied and flipped his hand negligently, "Eh, there are some other theories to it, but I haven't explored them all yet." He brushed his fingertips over a set of marks on the band, "When you need Ice, stroke this set of runes and say 'Ice'. The armlets will suspend the flow of power from the Quartz. When you need Light, stroke it again and say 'Light'." he explained with a grin, "Simple, right?" He turned and picked up his satchel, slinging it onto his shoulder as Sam, Tucker and Danny stiffened in sudden anxiety. "Let's go and pick up the Soul Stone, but first I need to get back to my apartment and pick up my fork." the android added.

"Your **what**?" Sam sputtered in surprise as Tucker burst into laughter. Danny held out his arms to try to describe the length of the utensil.

"He's got this really big fork in his room; I told you guys about it yesterday. I saw him with it the night the Book of the Underworld escaped." he explained and Jazz gave him a disbelieving glare. "I'm not kidding! His chef friend gave it to him, I think! It's a really big fork made of wood and metal!" Danny cried.

"Why would a robot have a giant fork?" Jazz muttered under her breath.

"Transportation and offense." Caleb answered easily and headed for the stairs, "C'mon! I don't want to be late picking up the stone! Danny, human form, please. Sam, Tucker, keep your new toys hidden. Jazz, let's go! We're gonna have to borrow your car, sorry."

"Fine, but I'm driving." the carrot-top agreed begrudgingly, "A fork for transportation? Amity Park always gets the weird ones!"


	8. Chapter 8

8

The city wasn't looking good, and there was a strange light hovering over Casper High in the distance that didn't bode well for the rest of Amity Park. Jazz glanced towards it a few times, chewing on her lip as she worried for her parents. Caleb gave it a scowl, then sulked in his seat as he grumbled under his breath. Sam, Tucker and Danny peered through the windows at the light, their concerns over what it could mean growing with each passing minute.

"'Double check the world for more of those things!' I said. 'There was only that one; the elf said so!' he said. 'Just take a look around while you're on that sailing trip, Lloyd!' I said. 'Nebilim's been banished and Origin said the Book's gone, so it's fine!' he said." Caleb snarled in a low voice, "Why don't people ever **listen** to me when I tell them to just double check things?! This is just like that time in Chicago; I told that woman to just check on that stupid cow one more time! It wouldn't kill her to just poke her head in and make sure things were okay in that stupid barn, but _nooooo_!"

"You were at the Chicago Fire?" Jazz asked in sudden shock.

"I lost half my written notes in that fire! And all because people didn't **listen** to me!" the android griped, "That light over there is the Book's influence; it's breached the school and is spreading over the city. If we don't stop it soon, it will swallow Amity Park and use it as a focal point to join the Underworld with this world."

"What about the ghost hunters still in there?" Danny asked as his sister switched on the radio.

_"...event. I'm not sure what's going on, but it doesn't look good for our resident hunters, people! As I speak, there seems to be a vortex of some kind of strange red light spiraling out of the school like a big tornado! The building itself has taken heavy damage from the monsters and ghosts attacking and the retaliation of the ghost hunters. It appears that even the Fentons are unable to make a dent in the growing number of spooks! I don't know about you guys, but if things don't turn around for the hunters soon, Amity Park could face yet another supernatural invasion!"_ a woman's voice was reporting shakily from Casper High.

_"Thank you for the update, Beverly. Any signs of the infamous Inviso-Bill yet?"_ a man's voice took over for a moment, stern in tone. Danny made a face and gagged, catching the android's attention in confusion.

_"None so far, Chuck. We have with us, however, Danny Phantom's biggest follower, who assures us that the ghost will appear to deal with the situation at hand. Miss, what gives you this confidence that Phantom will show up at all? For all we know, the mysterious voice in the school may have called him to join the other monsters."_

_"Oh, no, no, ma'am! The Ghost Boy would never join those awful monsters! He's my hero! He'll come and save the day and then I'll get to meet him and tell him how we're meant to be together and he'll fly me away to his ghost castle and we'll live happily ever after, but only if I still get to shop at The Limited!"_ a peppy young teen's voice came on to answer Beverly, her accent coloring her words with a cheerfulness that seemed to know no limits.

"Ugh, gross. That girl needs to get her head out of her stupid little fairy tales." Sam grumbled, folding her arms over her head as Danny sat up in his seat, leaning forward into the front of the car.

"What the-?! Paulina?!" he cried, "What in the world is she doing at the school when the ghosts are kidnapping people?!" Caleb raised a hand, the puzzled expression on his face never fading.

"I'm lost. What's going on now?" he asked, looking at all the teens in the car.

"That was Paulina, one of the popular girls in school, and a pain in the butt." Sam growled, "She's rich but stupid, as she so conveniently proved right now. She's been after Danny Phantom for months now."

"Inviso-Bill is the name most of the adults in town made up for me before the ghost invasion led by Pariah Dark. I told them my name is Danny Phantom, but either they didn't hear me or they just didn't care enough to correct themselves." Danny sighed in resignation, "Nowadays, the kids and most of the grown-ups call me Danny Phantom, but the ones who don't like me or are just kinda dense stick with Inviso-Bill. It's horrible! That's the worst name I've ever heard!" Caleb looked at him incredulously, then turned to the Goth in the back as she scowled out the window at the school. "Paulina's got a major crush on me as Danny Phantom, but she won't give me the time of day as Fenton." the halfa went on glumly, "Which is kind of a bummer, 'cause she's really pretty and, well, perfect." He managed a half-grin. "Though lately, she doesn't seem that way to me. Maybe I'm getting over her or something?"

The android was only paying partial attention to him, his eyes still watching the Goth. Danny tilted his head in confusion, turned to see what he was so interested in and raised an eyebrow at Sam's reddened face.

"What?! What are you staring at **me** for?! I didn't do anything!" she yelled and scowled, "So what if Miss Popular is gushing for her Ghost Boy? Big deal! Why should **I** care? She doesn't stand a chance, and she'll probably get dragged off by those ghosts any minute now!"

"I'd stay out of this if I were you." Tucker advised the redhead, "Sam gets this way anytime she thinks Paulina's trying to muscle in on her territory." If Danny thought Sam's face couldn't get any redder, he thought wrong.

"Tucker! Unless you want that PDA shoved in a place where you can't lose it, shut up!" the dark-haired teen shouted angrily, "I don't _have_ territory _anywhere_! Got it?!" Danny groaned softly and hunkered down in his seat, wishing he hadn't decided to sit between the girl and the geek.

"I really don't like where this conversation is going." Jazz grumbled, shooting glances into the rear view mirror at the group, "Will you all grow up already? We're kind of in a crisis here!" She pulled into the parking lot of a small hotel and watched Caleb jump out of the car, momentarily wishing she could also escape her brother and his friends for a few brief minutes.

There was no need to wait very long. The android came running back to the car with the utensil strapped to his back. He slid it free and carefully fitted it into the trunk of Jazz's car, then got back into the vehicle himself. The group had stared at him silently the entire time, save for Danny, who only wished he'd thought to fly out of the car and sit on the roof for the trip. Caleb returned the looks with a puzzled one of his own.

"What? You didn't think I was gonna go in that Book without a weapon of my own, did you?" he asked and tapped the dashboard, "We need to get to the park next. Let's get going before the situation at Casper High gets worse!"

* * *

With most of Amity Park in a lockdown to avoid encounters with ghosts and the ghost hunters losing ground at the high school, the city was mostly empty of life and the group of heroes took advantage of it. As per the message he had received that morning, Caleb set up a round violet disk on the grass in the copse of trees that had served as a meeting place for them at least twice before. According to the android, this was the teleporter needed to complete the drop of the stone. Until it arrived, the group practiced using their new and modified weapons.

"Hah, yah! Yeah!" Jazz cheered with each shot she made, blasting rocks from nearly twenty feet away with near perfect precision. Sam huffed as she darted towards a makeshift dummy, stabbed at it neatly a few times, then darted away, trying to time her motions to make the most strikes in the shortest time possible. Tucker fired his crossbow at the rocks alongside Jazz, wincing with each early attempt. As he grew more comfortable with the sounds of laser fire erupting from the gun, his aim got better and he kept his eyes open.

"This is good for working out!" Sam declared with a grin, rushing by the mannequin to make a slash that cut across its midsection. "How are we doing?" Caleb nodded slowly.

"Pretty good, considering your targets are currently stationary. We'll try moving targets later on. Just get your muscles used to the motions for now." he replied and turned back to the transformed halfa hovering before him. "So, ready?"

"Not really, but I get the feeling that doesn't matter to you." Danny muttered and shot up at the first blast of magic that came at him, narrowly avoiding the missiles of ice that buried themselves into the tree trunk behind him. "Hey! That tree didn't deserve to get iced, y'know!" the teen called down mockingly, "Poor robot, stuck on the ground and without your flying machine! You can't reach me all the way up here!" Caleb looked up at him, a grim expression replacing his usual friendly face as a circle of green bloomed at his feet.

"Flying won't give you any advantages here!" he returned and held up his hand, _"Air Thrust!"_ A bubble of green surrounded the phantom and he yelped painfully as blades of wind cut into his body. Diving out of the spell's range, Danny paused to take stock of his injuries. Lines of green ectoplasm dripped from multiple wounds along his arms, legs and sides, a sharp stinging pain emanating from each one and leaving him with a lightheaded feeling. He shut his eyes, shook off the feeling and put up a shield as the next blast of magic, more ice missiles, came at him. The ectoplasm shield worked like a charm; the ice vanished on contact and bought him time to let his ghostly healing ability close the worst of the cuts on his body.

"Hah! Magic doesn't work on ectoplasm!" Danny crowed and charged up his fists with the Ghost Ray, firing it down at the android in a doubly powerful blast that shone a green so bright it was nearly white. Caleb held up both hands defensively in response to the blast.

_"Guardian!"_ he cried and a bubble of green surrounded him as well, acting like a shield of his own. The blast hit and the android was thrown back from the force, recovering quickly with a few mid-air twists to land on his feet. An expression of shock was on his face. "What the heck?! Ectoplasm isn't supposed to get through magical shields like my mana-based _Guardian_ spell!" he exclaimed and stared up at the halfa, "Danny! It worked! The armlets you're wearing; they applied Light mana to your ectoplasmic attacks! They broke right through my shield!"

"Really?! Cool! Uh, you're okay, right? I mean, I didn't break anything, did I?" Danny called down. Sam and Tucker rushed up to help as Caleb looked himself over, dusting off the green uniform he wore.

"Nah, I'm fine. My clothes are made of mythril and magitechnology; it'll take a serious beating to do anything to me." he remarked and returned his gaze to the halfa, beaming, "But it's great to know my armlets work! I've always had some trouble with dwarven craftsmanship, but it's good to know that all those eons of practice finally paid off!"

Danny grinned down at the android, then yelped as a beam of light rushed past him and slammed onto the purple disc below, vanishing to reveal the form of a tall man in a dark blue business suit, clutching a small silver box in one hand, his messy brown hair almost out of place. The man tried to straighten it with one hand, red-brown eyes taking on a slightly befuddled look to them as he stepped off the disc.

"Man, why does it always do that? Caleb? You here?" the newcomer seemed to complain, "I got the Soul Stone." The redhead hurried towards him as Danny landed for a better look and the other teens joined him. As Caleb accepted the box, the businessman cocked his head and gave them all confused looks. "Are these guys the Heroes of Amity you were talking about?" he asked the android.

"Yeah, lemme introduce you. This is Danny Phantom, and these are his friends, Jazz Fenton, Sam Manson, and Tucker Foley." Caleb replied cheerfully, "Danny, guys, this is Lloyd Aileon, one of my friends from here in the States." The group shook hands amiably, the teens' eyes wide with surprise.

"Are you related to Lloyd Irving?" Tucker asked eagerly.

"He was an ancestor of mine, yeah. My parents say I take after him a lot." Lloyd agreed and winced, "Even down to my school grades; most of the Aurion Family never really liked dealing with school that much, but if someone got on our cases enough we could get through it."

"And I thought I was the only one who had issues with school." Danny sighed in relief, "So it's not me, it's a Hero thing?" Lloyd shrugged.

"I dunno. Maybe, but I wouldn't count on it. The Aurions aren't the only Heroes around; there are plenty of others who did great in school and could still be Heroes." he answered, "Maybe we were just that lazy about it? Oh well." He looked at Caleb sternly. "You know, you could have just told us what was going on and let us handle it. Why are you insisting on keeping us from doing our jobs?"

"Being a father; that's your job." Caleb told him, tucking the box into his satchel, "I don't want to upset your family anymore than is absolutely necessary. Would it really hurt for you guys to try to live normal lives?" Lloyd scowled, folding his arms over his chest.

"I'm a descendant of angels, how the hell is anything normal for me?" he growled and waved a hand around, "For any of the others? Rudee is pulling stunts with swords that make them seem almost alive, Shihna's gained the ability to summon Undine, Kraya took control of Volt to help her with her science projects, Breia insists on swallowing more aionis to learn healing spells because Collet keeps trying to fly on her own..." He scowled. "And our chef is the absolute worst! Yeah, the food's awesome, but you so much as try calling him a 'wonder' and he's all over you with that damn spell he likes so much!"

"He hates being called that. I told you half a dozen times already." Caleb sighed in dejection, "Please don't fire the poor man. He's had it rough enough as it is, and he **is** a Hero's descendant too."

"My reviving skills aren't the best in the world, you know. If he kills off one more customer, I'm sending him back to you to deal with." Lloyd threatened, "And if I so much as think you're gonna have trouble with this little adventure, I'm coming in after you!"

"Yes, Master." the android drawled and the brunet winced.

"Please, don't do that." he mumbled, rubbing his head in a sudden bout of shyness, "We're friends, equals... I don't want to think of you as a slave or anything."

"Then quit barking orders at me. I know what I'm doing." Caleb shot back and smiled, looking over at the confused group standing by him, "Besides, I have the Heroes of Amity joining me. I tried to keep them out of it, but they've got advantages I don't. And they were just as persistent as you can be." Lloyd made a face.

"Okay, okay. I get it. But I meant what I said about Eryu; one more screw-up and he's on the first plane to New York." he grumbled and gave Danny a sheepish grin, "Sorry. Hope you guys stay healthy." He paused and tilted his head in confusion. "Wait, you're a ghost, right? That means you're dead, right? So I guess that wouldn't work. What do you say to a ghost to wish them good luck?" he asked, baffled. Caleb sighed and pulled a hand over his face.

_"Sister, help me."_ he groaned and began herding Lloyd back to the teleporter, "They'll be fine! Danny will do just fine; you have your own kids to worry about! Home, home, before Collet trips and falls again! I'll show up at the party next week and show her the Tree like I said, so tell her to be good or I won't do it!" Once Lloyd was gone and the disk was put away, he returned to the group with a relieved sigh. "He means well, but sometimes it's frustrating dealing with him. Or anyone from his bloodline."

"Summoners still exist, huh?" Jazz mused aloud with a grin, "Even though they're not technically Heroes, the descendants still train and stay sharp in case they're needed, huh?" Caleb shrugged, a sheepish smile on his face.

"I suppose it's in their nature. Well, I've got the stone; is everyone ready to face the Book of the Underworld?" he asked. He looked around at the sudden grim faces and nodded slowly. "I see. All right, then. Let's gather up some supplies and get to the school. This battle won't be easily won." the android murmured and headed out of the park, the group trailing him with thoughts of the upcoming quest in their minds.


	9. Chapter 9

9

Preparing to enter the Book of the Underworld was more involved than Danny originally thought. His first assumption was that the group would be taking along some of the Fenton inventions for protection and offense, and a first aid kit in case anyone got hurt. Caleb's curious stare at him when he picked up an extra thermos and declared himself fit for the trip made him think it over. What more could anyone need to fight ghosts? He'd been doing fine with just his parents' inventions, his friends' help and his own ghost powers.

"That's it? You're just taking that?" the teacher asked in confusion, "Don't you think you should take along a blanket at least? Or do ghosts not sleep?" Danny blinked at him, lifting one eyebrow at the comment.

"Sleep? Huh? What are you talking about?" he questioned and scratched his head. "Why would I bother with sleeping in the middle of all _this_?" The halfa blinked again as he watched his sister pack a tightly rolled sleeping bag onto a backpack stuffed with who-knew-what. "Why's Jazz putting together stuff for a camping trip?" he asked in a low voice.

"Not just her; Sam and Tucker will be packing too, once we get to the proper shops for it. We're also taking along food supplies." Caleb replied simply, folding his arms over his chest and still giving him that puzzled look, "Why? Did you think this was going to be a quick, one-hour romp through the Gate of the Underworld?"

It was about then that Danny began to wonder what exactly he had gotten himself and his friends into. He wilted at the realization that he had been expected to pack heavily for the adventure.

"You mean, this might take _more_ than a day to deal with?" Danny whimpered, "I really don't think that's a good idea. What if the ghosts from the Ghost Zone escape while I'm gone? Who's gonna fight them off? The hunters are all in trouble at school!" Sam joined the two of them after helping Jazz load her pack into the car, catching a part of the conversation between the half-ghost and the android.

"The Ghost Zone hasn't been giving us any issues lately; it could be that the other ghosts heard about what was going on and decided to stay in their own dimension until things blow over." she remarked and gave Danny a look, "Why aren't you packed?" The halfa threw his hands up in exasperation.

"Pack? _Pack?_ How **long** is this going to take?" he yelled, "We're going to go and burn a book, for crying out loud! That should take about fifteen minutes, tops!" The android only scowled at him.

"Not from the outside! This is an ancient magical relic of dark and malevolent forces borne into this plane of existence by the lords of the Netherworld! You can't just chuck it in a bonfire and expect it to burn to ashes!" he griped. Sam nodded and pulled her textbook from her backpack.

"You should have been reading ahead, Danny. According to the Archive, the Book of the Underworld can only be destroyed by lighting a giant altar in the heart of the Book itself with something called Soulfire." she told him, grinning at his wide-eyed expression, "That's what the Soul Stone is for. When it enters the Gate of the Underworld, the Soul Stone begins to emit Soulfire. As it grows, it gets stronger and brighter, until it has the power to light the Altar of Darkness and burn the Book from the inside out."

"Nice. Bonus credit to Sam for getting the idea." Caleb mused aloud, a smile on his face. Danny shook his head in astonishment.

"'The heart of the Book'? You mean we have to go _inside_ that thing?" he shrieked, "No way! Nobody said anything about going inside a book that has the power to drive any ghost over the edge!"

"I thought it was a given." Caleb grumbled. Danny shook a fist at him angrily, eyes glowing a vivid yellow-green.

"You didn't say a damn thing about going inside the Book of the Underworld! And you didn't say how long this whole thing was gonna take! You're still hiding information from us and I'm not getting my friends involved in crap without all the advantages they can get!" he snarled, "What the **hell** is going on?" The android sighed and shook his head, walking away from them to take his place in Jazz's car. Sam followed after him as Danny yelled wordlessly in frustration, then flew out to join them as well.

Local shops were more than willing to offload wares as long as the group left quickly and didn't attract more ghosts. Once everyone had backpacks loaded with spare clothes, blankets, and various essentials, Caleb checked his own satchel, deemed himself as ready as could be and pointed at the growing vortex of light and magic.

"Over there is Gate of the Underworld. It won't be much longer before the Book has gained enough power to rip through the fabric of space and time to create its focal point and join this world with the Underworld." he remarked, "Based on the accounts of the journey told to me by Raine, it should take us about a week to reach the Altar of Darkness, provided things go smoothly."

"A _**week**_?" Danny shrieked again, "How the hell are we supposed to survive for a _week_ in a book full of ghosts and monsters and a severe lack of fast food?" Caleb shot him a glare over his shoulder.

"This is what separates the Heroes from the newbs; if you don't think you can handle this, then fine. Bow out." he growled, "Remember, I never wanted you to come to begin with. I have no problems with dumping you here and letting you deal with whatever happens after I destroy the Book."

"Less talk, more action. We've got a book to burn." Sam grumbled, grabbing Danny by the arm and marching back to the car, her black backpack loaded with gadgets, clothes and personal items.

"How are we supposed to go inside the Book, anyway?" Tucker asked the android in confusion as they climbed into the vehicle and Jazz began making her way to the high school. "That's kinda been bugging me for a couple of days now."

"It's a magical relic, Tucker." Caleb sighed, sounding as if he was on the verge of despair, "Doesn't that say enough about it?"

"Not really. Isn't there some scientific principle or something? I'm sure a robot would know a logical explanation for how a person enters a book." the teen pressed on.

"The most logical explanation for it? Okay." the android muttered in irritation, "How's this? The logic behind how a book can swallow a person is exactly the same as the one behind how a boy can become a ghost without dying." The three teens in the back looked at each other in surprise.

"Good answer." Sam chuckled, "He's got you there, Tucker." The dark-skinned boy nodded solemnly.

"Touché." he agreed, "Okay, so let's assume I'm gonna believe this whole 'it's magic' thing. How do we get out once we start burning the Book?" There was a bit of rustling from the front seat, then Caleb held up a shining item in his fingers for them to see.

"With this." he remarked simply. Danny, Sam, and Tucker all leaned forward to peer at the object. It was small, the size of a pin or brooch, and shaped like a pair of swords crossing each other. One sword had a crack running down the length of the blade and was a dull shade of violet; the other was perfect and shone with a mystic violet light.

"Hey, I recognize this!" Sam exclaimed, "This is that pin you wear! And it's the symbol of the Archives of the Twin Blades!" Danny blinked at her, then checked his own copy of the textbook. Sure enough, the same twin swords were emblazoned on the cover of the book, but both blades were in perfect condition. Not a single crack.

"How's a pin gonna help us?" he asked in confusion, opening the book and flipping through pages.

"It's a gift from Lloyd Irving, sort of. Originally, it was a single sword and it was given to me by the King of Summon Spirits, Origin, and my older sister, Martel. When it broke, Lloyd repaired it with the Eternal Sword and gave me this twin sword pin." the android recalled with a smile, "This is the Eternal Sword Pin, and it holds a great deal of magical influence. Not as much as the Eternal Sword itself, but enough to let me wish my way out of situations that are too much for me alone. When the power runs out, the pin breaks and becomes useless." Sam's eyes traced along the break of the cracked sword in consideration.

"One of the swords is already broken." she commented. Caleb sighed, turning the pin over to look at it more closely himself.

"I know. I kinda made a big request of it a **really** long time ago, and it drained what was left of that sword's power. The larger or more complex the request is, the more power is used up to make it occur." he explained and replaced it on his lapel, "So I try to use it sparingly. It's really hard getting this repaired and recharged, as only Origin or an Eternal Swordsman can do it." Jazz let out a sudden yelp of shock and slammed the brakes, catching the group inside off guard as they jostled about in surprise.

"Jazz! What's wrong?" Danny yelled out in concern and gaped as he spotted the school through the windshield.

Casper High was completely overrun by ghosts and monsters, griffin-like beasts flew around over the building as serpentine women slithered from the broken windows to make their way towards the barricade of police cars and military tanks. The sky overhead seemed to ripple with shades of blue and gaseous red, the vortex spiraling outward even more violently than before. The radio news crew was still in place, relaying information even as they shifted nervously behind crudely assembled barriers of equipment. Paulina crouched with them, periodically searching the skies.

Caleb got out of the car and walked forward several paces, startling the group further. He paused and lifted a hand to shield his eyes, gazing up at the sky as the teens abandoned the vehicle, grabbed their things and joined him, staring up at the horribly chaotic view overhead. For a moment, there was only silence, an awful silence broken only by the strange roar of the magical twister ripping into the air. Danny scanned the air, blinking a few times as his vision went hazy for a few brief moments.

"I don't see what she's looking for." Caleb finally remarked idly and the group stared at him in abject shock. He glanced at them in confusion. "Do any of you guys see what she's looking for? I'm pretty sure I had my systems fully calibrated to scan on all spectrums, but maybe I missed one?"

"You mean, you're standing out here, staring at the sky, because you want to know what _Paulina's_ looking for?" Danny asked incredulously, "She's looking for me! She's staring at the sky, waiting for me to show up as Danny Phantom!" Caleb blinked at him.

"She's looking in the wrong place then." he murmured in response, earning groans of exasperation from each of the teens around him, "What? I was just curious to know!"

"Million-year-old android and he's as easily distracted as a two-year-old!" Sam growled under her breath. She threw an arm out at the barricade, "Put that ancient brain to work and figure out how we can get by all those cops and soldiers! They'll blast Danny if he flies by in ghost mode!" Danny peered at the barricade himself, studying the positions of the people and vehicles arranged in a circle around Casper High.

"Doesn't look too bad. I can just turn us all invisible and we can make our way past the guards." he remarked and pointed out a path his mind put together, "Look, there's a fairly clear passage there, and there isn't much foot traffic. In the case that someone or something's about to hit us, I can turn us intangible, too." He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I'm goin' ghost!" he declared, calling the white ring around his waist. Jazz squinted at the circle of guards and put a fingertip to her teeth nervously.

"I dunno. Doesn't that seem a little risky? What if they have Dad's Fenton Ghost Finder?" she pointed out, "They'll spot us even if we're invisible by homing in on Danny!"

"There's too many ghosts and monsters around; they're probably confusing the scanners." Tucker answered confidently, "Look at 'em all! It's perfect! With that much ghostly activity going on, the police won't notice a little blip scurry by them, and the military doesn't have ghost hunting equipment!" He paused and then amended that last thought, "That we know of."

"You're assuming these ghosts are the same as yours again. They're based on mana, and ectotechnology doesn't scan for that." Caleb pointed out dryly, shaking his head, "If anything, they're probably staring at blank screens and wondering why their equipment isn't working."

"Then they'll spot Danny anyway, especially if they've got the scanners running on Threat Level Detection." Sam sighed harshly, "Danny's power registers him pretty high on the Threat Level, and that's a big blip on the screen. The cops will see **that** for sure. If any of them are in the anti-DP group, they won't have the update on the Ghost Finders that singles him out as a friendly."

"We'll just have to risk that. Everyone, link hands. I have to pass the power through a chain." Danny told the group and held out his hands, grabbing onto both Sam and Tucker. Jazz took Sam's hand in her own and shot Tucker a glare as he tried to stifle another bout of snickering. Caleb remained unlinked, closing his eyes as he held out his hands to the group, murmuring under his breath while a circle of light appeared at his feet.

_"Defend us from the blows of the enemy before us! Field Barrier!"_ he cried and the group of teens gasped as prisms of pale blue light surrounded each of them, spinning and fading as they shrank into nothingness, leaving a faint shining aura of blue around their bodies.

"What's this?" Danny asked in confusion, blinking at the blue light that settled by his normal white aura protectively. Each of his friends had the same shine, and Caleb gave his own a glance before placing a hand over the pin on his jacket.

"It's a magical barrier; raises defense against physical attacks and nullifies ectoplasmic attacks." the android replied, "It's only good for about five minutes, so let's hurry and get into the school before someone decides to take a potshot at us. _Eternal Sword Pin, hide me from the eyes of the world._" The halfa nodded and focused, turning his group invisible before making a run for the passage he found, the vanished android following after in a hurry.

Darting between cops and soldiers was a little more difficult with a group than on his own. Danny had to resort to insubstantial bursts to get them through the experience of dodging the barricade. Maybe Caleb's spell had the extra benefit of shielding him from the scanner, as no one made the attempt to shoot at him. Still, Danny wasn't going to chance it and quickly pulled the group into the school through the broken down entrance doors.

Reverting to normalcy within the walls of Casper High, Danny breathed a sigh of relief, blinked away another bout of hazy vision and looked over at his friends. Sam and Tucker looked fine while Jazz had a faintly disoriented look on her face from lack of experience with Danny's powers. Caleb shimmered back into view after murmuring another incantation to the pin.

"That's an experience I could have lived without." he finally remarked and shook his head, "I've decided that ghost powers should stay with ghosts. Sometimes I think Lloyd made this pin as lazy as him; I swear it must have copied how you turn yourself invisible and just applied it to me!"

"Ah, it's not **that** bad. You just have to practice with it and not focus so much on it." Danny replied with a grin. So, the android _could_ be shaken up; no one's immune to being freaked out, he supposed. Caleb took on an ill expression.

"I think I'll take my chances on moving around normally." he moaned softly, rubbing his head, "Ghost powers and prochaic androids don't make good bedfellows." Danny grinned wider and shrugged.

"Your loss." he remarked and floated off the floor, "Well, let's get to the library. Sooner we get rid of the Book, the better."

* * *

The ghost hunters really did tear through much of the building in their attempts to subdue or destroy the ghosts and monsters. Evidence of broken equipment and even a mangled body told tales of their utter failures. Jazz looked horrified, turning away from the broken figure of a lanky man in a brown haz-mat suit as Caleb knelt by to examine the body. Sam and Tucker quickly tended to her as Danny swallowed the rising sensation of needing to throw up and floated over both android and corpse for a better look.

So much blood from someone so thin; Danny glanced at himself subconsciously, reflecting on how often he had seen large amounts of ectoplasm pour from his wounds at the end of each large battle, green fluid that turned red when his waning strength failed to support the ghost transformation. The android was murmuring something softly, hand moving to place a small trinket on the dead man's chest before making flowing motions over him and standing.

"Looks like this one was taken down by the Coffin Masters." he finally muttered and glanced at Danny, "You seem to be doing well for someone so young and innocent. I take it this isn't the first time you've seen a dead human?"

"I've seen several in this line of work, mostly from the future Dan ruined." the halfa whispered, "First few ones, I was so sick I couldn't move. It's... getting a little easier." He tore his gaze from the cadaver and locked onto the android's own green eyes. "What were you doing?"

"Praying. Hoping his soul finds rest within the arms of the Yggdrasill Tree." Caleb returned softly and walked away from the body, "C'mon. There's nothing more we can do for him. His life ebbed away long before we arrived." Danny floated after him, paused to look back at the body and shuddered, murmuring a small prayer of his own. He closed his eyes when the world suddenly tilted, shook his head and turned back to rejoin his friends.

The idea that the battles in the school had taken actual lives from people was wearing on the teens. Danny and Jazz feared for their parents; had the Fentons fallen to the wave of monsters that surged from the Gate of the Underworld? Even clad in the protective armor of the Fenton Ghost Peeler, Jazz had no defense from the tears that ran down her face.

"Mom, Dad! Please be okay!" she cried and shuddered as her young brother floated close to hug her in comfort. Sam gazed at them sadly, turning the look on Tucker who only pulled his beret free to run his hand over cropped hair.

"This is big." he murmured, "This is not good. If Danny's parents are killed, and anything happens to us..." He got a nudge from the Goth and looked at her in surprise.

"Don't think that way. The last thing we need to do is remind Danny of what he said in the basement yesterday." she whispered harshly, "The Fentons are tougher than that. I'm sure they're just stuck somewhere, or got captured and are being held hostage. They're alive, and don't ever think otherwise!" They paused to let Caleb renew the magical barrier before turning down another hallway. Tucker was the first to shout out in shock.

_"Valerie?"_ he cried in astonishment, watching the girl he had a crush on fire her rifle at several of the mana ghosts crowding around the nurse's office.

"Take that, you stupid ghosts! And that!" Valerie yelled in a fury, firing rapidly as mana ghosts fell, one after another. She turned at the sound of her name and blinked in surprise. "Tucker? Sam?" she exclaimed, then spotted the halfa floating near them, "**You!** I'll get you now!"

"What? No! Not now!" Danny cried in alarm, bringing an arm up out of instinct as the hunter whirled around on her hover board and fired off a blast from her rifle. The shot made contact amid the screams of horror from the other teens... and promptly vanished without any effect. Danny blinked and looked at himself with a startled expression. "Nothing happened?" he asked, brows furrowing in confusion.

"_Field Barrier_. It's still active." Caleb replied with a frown as he marched forward, "Valerie! Stop shooting! I need to talk to you!" The girl shook her head furiously, glaring at him from through the clear visor of her helmet.

"Not a chance! You're protecting that Ghost Kid! He's Public Enemy Number One, and he's the jerk who ruined my life! I'm not talking to anybody who sides with my enemies!" she snapped. Caleb matched her expression with one of his own.

"Too bad. 'Cause you're still gonna talk to me." he growled as Valerie checked her gun.

"What's the matter with this thing? Why didn't it destroy that Ghost Kid? I hit him dead on!" she fumed.

"My spell shields him from all forms of ectotechnology until it wears off." the android told her simply and peered at her weapon, "That and I think your gun's calibrated wrong." Danny and his friends stared at him in disbelief as Valerie tilted her head warily. "All the ghost hunting weapons I've seen so far do nothing against mana-based ghosts, with the exception of the Fenton Thermos. Yours is doing very well against them." he went on and looked up at the hovering girl. "Can I take a look at it?"

"No! What if you wreck it?" Valerie shot back accusingly, "You're helping that ghost! You'll probably sabotage my gun!"

"Oh, really! I'm not going to sabotage it! I'm a scholar; what good is destroying potential sources of data gonna do me?" he griped, "Now let me see the gun so I can fix it!"

"It doesn't need fixing; it's destroying those ghosts just fine!" Valerie protested as Caleb held out a hand to her, waiting for the weapon. "Oh, fine! I've got more where it came from anyway." she grumbled, handing the gun to him.

"That's a lie, but hey, whatever makes you feel better." the android remarked and opened up the rifle, studying the system. "Here's the problem. Somebody purposely made the beams from this weapon weaker than the bursts fired from the Fenton Rifles." he remarked in surprise, "You're just firing off really bright and powerful bursts of light. Light mana... your gun was configured wrong, so it's letting you fire on mana ghosts. If you fired this on Danny Phantom, the worst it'll do is stun him."

The group of teens gaped at him in silence. Valerie locked her gaze on the gun she so often wielded with a mix of fury and confusion. Her body shook with emotion as she turned her glare on the android.

_"What... did... you... say?"_ she growled in a dangerous tone. Caleb pointed at various parts of the gun she had never seen before.

"The ectoplasmic charges in this gun are severely diluted and fired through this ruby lens to create your beams. The diluted charges do little to no damage against a modern ghost, so if you hit Danny with a full blast, all it will do is stun him for a few moments." he replied simply, "Whoever built and gave you this gun didn't want you to actually kill Danny, just disable him for a short period of time."

"Are you saying my missiles are light show guns, too?" Valerie raged at him. The android cocked his head, looking back up at her.

"Missiles? He gave you missiles too? Plain charge or specialized?" he asked and only got a blank stare in response, "I figured as much. You have plain charge missiles; should have been obvious by that crater you blew in the street this week. Why would you fire missiles on a ghost that can just phase through them and the resulting explosions?"

"But... but..." Valerie began stammering, head spinning with questions and confusion, "What about my throwing discs?"

"They might do some damage if they were treated right, but I've seen how Danny's body reacts to blade-induced injuries. They heal very quickly." Caleb remarked as he took a tool from his pack and started working on the gun in his hands, "I'm guessing you have a very small supply of them. That follows the theory that your benefactor doesn't want the ghost boy destroyed. I'm sure that if you were to aim really well, and catch him off guard, you could probably score a fatal wound with one of them, but you'd have to hit his neck if the blades aren't designed to pierce the body." He glanced up at Valerie's stunned face and smiled. "I guess they're not. Yeah, a strike to the neck would definitely end his after-life, but it's a small area to hit and a small area to heal, so it would probably be sealed off with ghostly regeneration before he lost enough ectoplasm to fade away."

"How do you know all this? You're a mythology teacher." Valerie mumbled dazedly.

"Actually, I'm an ancient android from the time of Symphonia. I'm here to destroy the relic that's setting all these ghosts loose in Amity Park, plus learn a few things about modern ghosts and ghost hunting." the redhead replied casually and lifted the gun to look through its sight. "I've got it calibrated properly. There's a modification in it that will allow you to continue blasting mana ghosts, but it's not fully reliable. When the charges lose power, I'll replace the stone that's focusing it." He handed the gun back to Valerie and Sam exploded in a fury.

_"What the __**hell**__ are you doing?"_ she yelled, "We just got done telling you she wants to destroy Danny! Why are you helping her?" The others agreed with her in loud angry voices, stepping forward as the android looked over at them innocently.

"She's a hunter who can hit mana ghosts. Maybe she can help us fight the monsters in the Book?" he remarked.

"Hey! I don't buy into this whole 'Monster Book' and 'I'm really a robot from the past' schtick!" Valerie snapped at him, "And no way am I helping a bunch of geeks who are buddy-buddy with a ghost!"

"I resent that!" Tucker yelled out, "I'm here, too, Val!" The huntress winced at the reminder and shot Caleb a glare.

"You ratted on me! Jerk!" she growled. Caleb shrugged.

"Doesn't matter to me if you believe me or not, but if you want to wander the school taking potshots at the grunts, go ahead." he remarked and motioned to the others, "C'mon. Library's not that far off."

"Why should we go anywhere with you?" Jazz growled, "You just helped Valerie gain the ability to hurt Danny!"

"No, I didn't." the android told her, "I only fixed her gun so she could hit both modern ghosts and mana ghosts. I didn't patch it for Danny's signature." He gave a half-shrug. "She can fire it on Desiree and Technus and whoever else pops out of the Ghost Zone all she wants, but the second she pulls the trigger on Danny Phantom, the charge will only pass through him." He accented it with a little wave as he turned back to walking down the hall. "He's immune to her, and basically always had been. I just made it a little more enhanced. Now, if you don't mind, I have a book to burn."

Danny blinked in astonishment, then shook his head, shrugged and flew after him, joined quickly by his friends as Valerie stared at her weapon, realization dawning on her as she learned what exactly happened.

_"What did you do to my gun?"_ she screamed in outrage, her voice echoing through the hall as the group of heroes raced on to the library.

* * *

Despite the chaos outside, the interior of the school seemed eerily quiet. There were a few skirmishes with the mana-based bedsheet ghosts, which Caleb explained as really being called Ghosts and the yellow-colored ones were called Spirits, but nothing alarming. Danny enjoyed the boost to his ectoplasmic rays that the armlets provided. The ghosts were bursting into nothingness one after another as he fired the blasts on them, smiling down at Sam as he spotted her dart by one of them, slash quickly with her bright mythril dagger, then run off as the ghost burst apart.

_'She's beautiful when she's being deadly.'_ he thought warmly and froze at the thought, _'Wait! Did I just think that?'_

"Watch your back, Danny! They're not all dead yet!" Caleb yelled, running by with the giant fork in his grip. He spun and swung it, slamming the prongs into a griffin and sending it skidding across the floor. Jazz aimed the Peeler at it and fired, grinning viciously as the creature exploded from the attack. The halfa spun at the sound of a shriek and threw up an ectoplasmic shield around himself, blocking a blast of magic from a winged woman floating behind him.

"Flap away, birdie!" Tucker chuckled, lifting the crossbow to fire on the harpy. There were several bursts of intense laser fire, and the harpy fell to the ground, vanishing in an explosion of feathers. Danny flashed him a grin of gratitude and shot forward into a mid-air tumble that ended in both of his feet slamming into a second harpy trying to fire pin feathers on Jazz.

The battle was quickly over and Danny watched curiously as Caleb knelt among the remains and searched through the rubble. He pulled free several small stones and a handful of dull golden coins, jingling them in his hands as he stood with a smile.

"What's that?" Danny asked, tilting his head. The android opened his hands and showed him the collection of spoils in his palms. "Green rocks and coins with pictures of trees and a woman. What's this?"

"Stones are Green Quartz, and the coins are gald. Gald was the currency the world went by, until copper, silver and gold became plentiful enough to replace it." Caleb explained, "Gald was made from an ore that could be found in various mines and mountains all over the world, a large deposit of which was in Hima. It's basically gone now, but on occasion my friends find a pocket of it here and there." He smiled and dropped the items into Danny's hurriedly cupped hands. "Here. You can have them. Think of 'em as souvenirs."

"Really? Um, thanks." the halfa remarked, eyebrows shooting up in surprise. He dropped the spoils into a pocket in his backpack. Shouldering it again, Danny looked around and pointed at a set of doors. "There. That's the library." he reported and frowned, "Shouldn't it be better protected? And why hasn't Nebilim bugged me the whole time I've been here?" The group stood before the doors, puzzled.

"Danny's right; the Book of the Underworld would protect itself from danger while kidnapping people, right?" Sam asked and folded her arms over her chest, glaring at the doors. "Something's not right here."

"The King of the Underworld must be really confident about his power." Tucker remarked, tapping at his PDA, "Security system in the school is still active. Updated mana ghost sensors are picking up lots of blips, most of them crowding the gym, cafeteria and teachers' lounge. He's probably got the ghost hunters all over the place except for here." Jazz frowned, glaring out at the doors through the clear face-plate of her helmet.

"I don't like this. The ghosts are crowding other places, we haven't run into any live ghost hunters except Valerie, which is still a shock to me. Danny, didn't you used to date her?" she asked, earning a scowl from Tucker and a pained expression from the phantom.

"Um, once or twice, but it obviously didn't work out. Besides, I think she has more of a thing for Tucker than me now." he replied and looked towards the android, "Any ideas what could be going down?" Caleb frowned, slowly shaking his head.

"There were very few actual ghosts and monsters that we ran into, and they were kinda weak." Jazz went on with her previous train of thought, "And upon reaching the goal, there is nothing here to block our entry. Nothing that could give us any trouble or provide some kind of resistance. On top of that, the King of the Underworld hasn't even attempted to make contact with Danny, and we know that he's been trying to get Danny to join him along with the other ghosts. He got Desiree and Technus, but he suddenly stops chasing after Danny." Her frown deepened in concert with the android's. "This doesn't feel like something an overly confident being would do. There's something very wrong about all this." Danny gave her a puzzled look, then gazed down at his boots in thought.

It _did_ seem wrong; after spending the majority of the day in the school without having Nebilim constantly heaping commands on his head, he had felt a great sense of relief. Now, it was worrying. Why wasn't Nebilim hounding him anymore?

_"I've heard tell you are in the service of the Fallen Angel."_ the King had remarked once before and Danny recalled the words with a slight shudder, glancing quickly at the android. Caleb's expression was wiped clean and blank, the redhead merely staring at the double doors like... well, like a robot. Was Nebilim really talking about the android? Was Caleb a 'Fallen Angel'? But wasn't he called the Guardian Angel of the Heroes of Lore? Why would the King of the Underworld call him 'Fallen Angel'? Wouldn't that make Caleb... an ally to Nebilim?

_'Am I being led right into a trap? Is this all a setup so that Nebilim can make me into some ghost slave and my friends and family...'_ A strangled sound of horror was lodged in his throat, his eyes going wide with terror. _'Nebilim must know something about me... about Dan? Dan! If he takes away my family, my friends... I'll turn into Dark Danny, and he'll rip open the Ghost Zone... Everything will be gone and it will be...'_

"...my fault." Danny whispered suddenly, catching the attentions of the teens around him. He flew back from them with a scream, clutching his head. "Nooo! I won't go!" his shriek filled the halls. Caleb turned back at last, taking on a confused expression that turned to concern as he watched the phantom writhe almost in pain. "No, no, no! I won't go! _I won't go!_"

"What's wrong with him?" the redhead asked as the other teens moved towards Danny cautiously, hands lifted in gestures of peace.

"Danny! Danny, calm down! What's going on? What's wrong?" Sam cried, trying to reach out and grab a flailing limb.

"Calm down, Danny! Little Brother, please!" Jazz begged, removing the Fenton Ghost Peeler armor to make her own attempts at subduing the half-ghost. Tucker pat his pockets and backpack helplessly.

"We don't have anything that can hold him down anymore! Caleb fixed every Fenton weapon we had to be ineffective!" he exclaimed in a panic, "What do we do now?"

"Get away! Get away from me!" the halfa went on screaming and Sam leaped back in alarm. She began waving her arm at Jazz and Tucker wildly.

"Get back! If he raises his voice any louder, he'll trigger the Ghostly Wail!" she yelled, "Tucker, Jazz, take cover! Danny! Stop it!" The Goth gasped, then turned and fled after her friends, one hand buried in her pack as she tried desperately to find something that could bring down her friend without harming him. Caleb followed her, baffled.

"What's going on?" he called over the rising sound of Danny's screams.

"He's gearing up the Ghostly Wail! It's the strongest ghost power Danny has in his arsenal and if it goes off in here, the whole place could come down!" Sam yelled at him and threw her hands open, "It's like the wail of a banshee, but **way** worse!"

"Oh, is that all?" Caleb murmured with a grin and immediately turned back. Sam skid to a halt and gaped after him, then began racing back as Tucker and Jazz called out to the both of them to return.

Sam turned the corner as she heard part of a phrase be called out. The redhead's voice sounded scarily calm, almost amused.

_"Cyclone!"_ The sound of rushing wind filled Sam's ears and suddenly Danny's rising scream ended, abruptly cut off and followed by death-filled silence. Her hand rose to her mouth in horror and she raced the final few steps to see what lay before her.

Danny, in Fenton form, lay crumpled on the floor, breathing haggardly as Caleb hovered over him, right hand glowing softly as a similar light spread over the teen and healed numerous cuts that had stained his clothes green and red. Sam rushed forward to the boy's side, brushing hair back from his face as she called his name softly. Jazz and Tucker's alarmed shouts sounded far away in her mind.

"Danny, Danny, wake up! Please!" Sam murmured, "Come on, you idiot ghost boy! You've survived worse crap than this!" The halfa coughed and groaned, eyes fluttering open as he tried to focus on her face.

"Sam? What happened?" he mumbled and tried to sit up, "I feel... weak..." Jazz and Tucker knelt by him, helping push him into a sitting position. The carrot-top pressed her hand against Danny's forehead, then scowled at Caleb as the android stepped back to watch them.

"He's cold and covered in sweat; what the hell did you do to him?" she demanded. The redhead leaned against the wall of lockers, raising one eyebrow at them as though mildly baffled at the way they spoke to him.

"He's just fine; I cast _Cure_ on him, a pretty potent healing spell. I had to drain quite a bit of ectoplasm to pull him out of Phantom form." Caleb returned and waved to the pools of green that spread over the floor and part of the walls, "_Cyclone_ was the only spell I could think of that could generate enough air blades to bleed out a large amount of it and force the revert quickly."

"That's dangerous to do in public places like this!" Jazz hissed, "That's the most **stupid** thing anyone could do to him! What if you overdid it and killed him?" Caleb's eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"Oh? Sorry. As for him dying, rest assured that it wouldn't have happened. _Resurrection, Revive _and _Raise the Dead_ are among some of my death prevention skills. " he remarked and trained his gaze on the boy, "Danny, how are you feeling? I'm sorry I had to do that to you, really. But my readouts said that the majority of your powers are accessible only when you switch from mana-dominated form to ectoplasm-dominated form." He rubbed his chin and squinted thoughtfully, "Or in other words, when you go from Fenton to Phantom. So if I drained out enough of your ectoplasm, your body would immediately begin calling on additional mana to support your life. The off-balance blend of ectomana wouldn't be stable enough to support Danny Phantom and all his powers, forcing a revert to recover the lost ectoplasm during his mana-dominated form and ending any threat of a high-level ghost power going off."

"You... stopped... Ghostly Wail...?" Danny murmured faintly, eyes glazed with weakness and faint understanding. The android nodded once. "Thanks..."

"Why were you screaming? What happened to you?" Sam asked in concern and the boy sat up on his own, rubbing his head.

"I felt trapped, like I was being lured into something that was going to hurt all of you." he began slowly, "I had a sudden thought... that Caleb was really an agent working for Nebilim... and he was gonna take me to him so they could turn me into Dan Phantom." The group stared at him, then looked up at the redhead.

"I knew it... the cheat." Caleb grumbled irritably, glaring over at the double doors, "He must have planted a mental trap spell on you sometime earlier, and it triggered the final part when we reached the library." He looked back at the group. "I was wondering why Danny wasn't responding to _Cure_ like he should have. There's a Dark spell interfering with my Light. I'll just cast it again and that should finish the healing process." He held out his hand towards the boy and murmured an incantation, _"Mana around us, mend this broken form! Cure!"_

Brilliant blue-white light surrounded Danny and he felt additional strength returning to him. Bruises and cuts that his ghostly healing had been working on faded, and it was only a moment more before he could stand and several moments more to return to Phantom form. Caleb stepped forward and pressed his fingers to the halfa's forehead, frowning.

"Faint, but receding. Good. I'd hoped my spell would overpower it." he murmured and jerked his thumb at the library. "Nebilim likes to play mind games with his victims; the despair and anguish acts like a magical boost to his spells and incantations."

"Like it does with most ghosts." Jazz murmured, standing up and refitting herself in the Fenton Ghost Peeler armor. "Danny, feeling better?" The halfa twisted fluidly through the open air of the hallway before settling to float a few inches above the floor.

"Doing fine now that the spell on me is gone. Sorry for thinking you were a bad guy, Caleb, but Nebilim mentioned me working for a Fallen Angel and..." the phantom murmured and trailed off guiltily.

"You thought it was me." the redhead finished for him, taking up the lead again, "Well, he's kinda right. I sort of am a fallen angel."

"From?" Sam pressed as she rubbed at her eyes and lifted up her pack. The group began the walk back to the library several yards away.

"From time. I'm kinda doomed to live out my life in isolation." the android sighed, "My friends will grow old and die, and I'll be left behind to hide my face in darkness while I watch their funerals because people will start to wonder about a family friend who never ages."

"Angel of Stolen Time." Danny murmured and jumped in mid-air at the sudden harsh sigh from the redhead beside him.

"Stop reading my notes, Danny. It's really annoying." Caleb grumbled. "I'm not the Angel of Stolen Time; at least, I don't think I am."

The way to the library was barred yet again, this time by Valerie on her hover board, aiming her rifle at Danny.

"I don't know what the heck's going on around here, but I do know that the Fentons are missing, the other ghost hunters are either gone or dead and that funky blue light that stopped my blast isn't on the ghost kid anymore!" she declared and fired again, "Take that! For ruining my life!" And as the android had said it would, the beam of ectoplasm passed cleanly through the halfa, leaving not even a trace of injury. "Darn it! What did you do to my gun? I can't shoot at him anymore!" Valerie fumed at the teacher.

"Oh, you can shoot him. Fire away. Be trigger happy to your heart's content." Caleb remarked evenly, "You just can't hit him. That's all."

"The Fentons are missing?" Danny echoed, rushing between the redhead and Valerie, "M-uh... Maddie and Jack Fenton? They're not in the high school?" Valerie scowled at him.

"No, but I'm sure wherever they are, they have the weapons that'll finish you off for good, Ghost!" she barked and put a fist on one hip, glaring back at the library. "The last I saw of them was an hour ago, and they were coming to this area to chase some more ghosts. Radio contact with them was lost shortly after." She returned her gaze to the group, focusing on Jazz. "I'm surprised to see **you** here. Where's Danny?" she asked, "Does he know you're here?" Jazz's eyes went wide as her mind raced for an excuse, the halfa looking back at her in alarm.

"Uh, well! He's back at home and protected by the Ghost Shield!" she stammered, "Mom and Dad probably would have wanted him to come along on a ghost hunting adventure but I told him that he had to be safe because he isn't as fit for ghost hunting as me and Mom and Dad are!" Danny miraculously kept a straight face at the remarks, floating aside to let Valerie have clear view of his sister.

"Yeah, he _is_ kinda scrawny, but cute." the huntress laughed, relaxing a little, "Too bad my ghost hunting got in the way." She shook her head. "Oh, what might have been. Anyway... how are you doing so far, Tucker?" The dark-skinned boy blinked in surprise, pointing at himself briefly before smiling and bounding up to her. "You're doing pretty good at this ghost hunting stuff. Taking tips from Danny's parents?" Valerie remarked in a friendly tone, "Nice weapon. Is that something the Fentons came up with?"

"Actually, Caleb made it." Tucker answered, displaying the silvery crossbow, "He made it based on Lens technology, which is an ancient technology similar to magitechnology, which is what he's made of." Valerie tilted her head. "Never mind. Um, are you gonna let us pass? We kinda have to go to the library." The huntress returned to her defensive stance.

"No way! The Fentons disappeared when they came near here, and I'm not gonna let the same happen to you guys! And I have to figure out a way to waste this blasted ghost!" she snapped, training her gun on Danny again. Caleb pushed through and shoved her gun upwards, glaring at her.

"I don't have time for this." he growled and tossed his head towards the doors, "Everyone! In! Stay on your toes; I don't know what Nebilim's got set up for us!" Sam and Tucker nodded and ran for the double doors as Valerie yelled and struggled to get free. "Jazz, stay close to Danny Phantom and go through! Don't let anything with magical potential get near him or we could have a repeat of the hallway incident!"

"C'mon, Jazz!" Danny cried, lifting his sister and flying towards the doors, phasing through the metal. Caleb dashed after them, laughing.

"If you wish to join us, better hurry! Once I take us into the Book, there's no escape until it burns!" he called back tauntingly. Valerie straightened on her board, growled ferociously and gave chase, barreling through the double doors after him.

Casper High's library was large, and now very empty. Shelves of books were knocked over and papers were strewn all around. In all, it was as though hell had broken loose in the room, but an eerie quiet surrounded Sam, Tucker, Jazz and Danny as they walked through the mess.

"The eye of the storm." Sam murmured, gazing up reflexively to where she knew the vortex of magic spun above them. She walked along until she heard the crunch of something under her heavy combat boots. Startled, she looked down at her feet and blinked at the scattered bits of shining crystal spread over the carpet, surrounded by sparkling powder. Puzzled, she knelt to touch the powder and crystal, half aware of the crashing and noise starting up in the background.

"Valerie? What are you doing?" Jazz's voice yelled.

"This stupid teacher is gonna get you all _killed_!" Valerie protested, "I'm trying to save your hides from him and that maniac ghost!"

"Uh, excuse me? _Who's_ the one flying around on a jet board and firing missiles at pedestrians in broad daylight?" Danny shot back.

"Guys, can we not fight here? I have to locate the Book." Caleb sighed loudly.

"How about not fighting at **all**? That'd be great, too. Right, Danny?" Tucker pointed out as peaceably as possible.

"Why did you call him 'Danny'?" Valerie questioned in suspicion.

"Duh, 'cause that's my name!" Danny yelled back, "Danny Phantom! **Not** Inviso-Bill! Why can't people just stop shooting at me long enough to hear my name when I tell it to them?"

Sam frowned at the powder and followed the path of crushed crystal to a crumpled form not more than ten feet from her, half-hidden by fallen books and papers. She yelled in alarm and jumped up, sending everyone rushing to her side in a flash.

"What is it, Sam?" Danny asked her worriedly and followed her outstretched finger at the still form. "Another dead ghost hunter?" Caleb pushed past them, a strange expression on his face.

"No... that's Adam..." he whispered and walked towards the figure, the teens following quietly after him. They watched the redhead kneel by the pile of books and papers, lift the fallen blonde up and place a hand against his cheek. The substitute from the previous day had his eyes closed, a faintly pained expression on his face that hinted at his final moments. The blonde's torso had been ripped open, exposing ruined circuitry and a partially collapsed gap in the center coated in still more of the shining dust Sam had found. She held out her hand with bits of crystal in her palm.

"I found this on the floor." she whispered as Valerie gaped at the sight.

"That's the sub from yesterday! He's dead! Oh, wait, he's a robot? What's going on?" she stammered in shock, "But, he seemed so real! He talked like a living, breathing person! And he even offered to make us lunch so we wouldn't have to leave the classroom and get run down by the panicked students!"

"Part of his personality matrix." Caleb remarked in a dead voice, "Sam, please drop those. They're what's left of the mana crystals that fueled Adam. Basically, it's his heart." The Goth yelped and dropped the shards quickly, brushing her hand off on her skirt as Danny looked at the group in confusion.

"I'm lost." he remarked and took another look at the two androids, "Hey! He looks like...!"

"Wren, I know. I designed this robot to look like him, and act like him to a certain extent." Caleb sighed, setting the body back down onto the floor and adjusting the torn green shirt to cover the hole in his chest, "When he's not posing as a statue in the New York branch of the Archives, he's the chef for the workers' cafeteria and guest lunchroom." He stood and shook his head. "Nebilim did homework on me; the crystals in Adam's body are in roughly the same place as the crystals in me." the android mused aloud, "He plans on trying to kill me. Hmm. Interesting."

Valerie's board folded and compacted itself into the soles of her shoes, allowing her to drop onto the floor and lean forward to stare at the blonde on the floor, eyes wide. She slowly turned to look up at Caleb.

"O-okay. You have my attention now. What's going on?" she asked in a subdued tone.

The teens gave her a brief summary on what was happening to Amity Park as Caleb searched the still standing shelves for the Book of the Underworld. Danny Phantom's involvement needed some fancy story-telling but in the end he ended up simply telling Valerie that he was getting sick of having some outside force interfere with his work at being a hero and agreed to help the Fentons as long as they didn't turn around and shove him into a Thermos on the spot. Valerie looked like she was going to dispute that, but decided against it in the end.

"Okay, so what exactly is the Soul Stone going to do once we get inside the Book?" she asked.

"It will make Soulfire, and the further we go into the Book, the stronger it gets. By the time we reach the Altar of Darkness, it should be strong enough to burn the Book." Sam explained. The huntress puzzled it over, polishing her rifle as she thought about the answer. Danny alternated between perching on a toppled bookshelf, watching them, and floating alongside Caleb, speaking softly as they searched the books.

"Yeah, but where does the fire come from? Rocks don't produce fire by themselves, y'know." Valerie pointed out at last, "I wasn't in class at the time you read this stuff, so what's that passage again?"

"Basically it said that the fire was fueled by the light of the pure lives of the Heroes." Tucker replied as both Caleb and Danny returned to them, "But we're not sure what that means."

"I've been meaning to tell you about that. Guess I thought you already knew." the android sighed, "Soulfire is the light of your lives. It takes your life, your mana, and converts it into a holy fire. That's why it's so risky to go into the Book. If the Soulfire runs out at any time, then everyone contributing to it will perish."

"You mean, we could **die** if the fire is snuffed out?" Sam cried in alarm, leaping up, "What about Danny?" Valerie snorted.

"Light of your _lives_, remember? How the heck is that ghost supposed to add in his _life_? He's dead!" she pointed out and shot him a glare, "He's probably going to try to snuff out the Soulfire the minute it starts up and wipe us all out!"

"And get trapped in there with the crazy monsters? Pass..." Danny sniffed and tossed his head towards the back, "The Book is over there. It's ugly looking. How can anyone have missed something that has an eyeball on the cover?" Jazz stood up and looked around her at the other teens.

"We don't have much choice, guys. We're all Amity Park has to stop this thing from uniting the Underworld and our world!" she told them. Danny nodded in agreement.

"If we don't stop this, everything we know and love will be taken over by darkness." he added somberly, "I can't let that happen. I'm still going in and I'll be damned if I let that fire go out before we set it on the altar."

"If Danny's going, I'm going." Sam announced, standing up bravely.

"If Sam's going, I gotta go. Can't pass up more digital shots." Tucker remarked with a grin, earning glares from at least three other teens. Valerie sighed and stood with them.

"Fine, then I'm coming too. If only to keep you guys safe." she muttered reluctantly, "But that seems kinda pricey; burn the Book with fire made of our lives and rely on a half-broken pin to get us out before we die with it?"

"It's all we have." Caleb told her and began walking off, "I'll deal with Adam when we get back. He'll be safer here than in the Book with me and I can't do the repairs until I take him back to New York."

The group of them came upon the Book Danny spoke of resting on a shelf between a few dictionaries and a partially burned thesaurus, and he had been right about it being ugly. The cover of the Book was made of a strange light brown leather that looked somewhat wrinkled with age, inlaid with polished gold and bone. There was a brass clasp that sealed the Book closed, and the eye Danny mentioned was embedded on the brass that covered part of the front of the Book.

"See? Hideous." the halfa grumbled.

"That's not an eyeball." Caleb sighed in exasperation, "It's an Exsphere. It's meant to seal the Book, but this one must have had a flaw." He looked at the team of teenagers seriously. "This is it. Once we go in, there's no way of getting out until we light the altar. Last chance to drop out."

"Hey, we said we're going, so we're going." Sam told him flatly, "So let's go!" The android nodded and took a deep breath, held it, then exhaled, holding his hands out to the Book.

_"Goddess Martel, Guardian of the Yggdrasill Tree, grant us thy blessing of luck and health. Origin, King of Summon Spirits, grant us safe passage into the Book of the Underworld. Grant us passage into Niflheim!"_ he cried and a brilliant light shone around the group, blinding them to everything.

Danny's eyes went wide at the last image he could see before everything went dark; the silhouette of a tall woman with long hair and a staff with wings and a sphere, holding a hand out towards the redhead that stood before him.


	10. Chapter 10

10

Danny's first thought upon regaining consciousness was 'Am I still in ghost form?' He lifted a hand to his face, a grateful sigh escaping his mouth as he took in the familiar white of his glove and the soft white aura that encompassed his body as Danny Phantom. He tried to sit up, found his breath seemed to have been sucked out of him, grunted softly and collapsed back on the floor. The prone position he was in gave him the opportunity to glance at part of his surroundings. He was lying on what looked like translucent glass, suspended on nothing in a vast realm filled with gaseous red and black clouds as far as he could see.

"Uggh...." he groaned softly and winced as someone placed a hand on his forehead.

"He's waking up." Jazz's voice murmured in a hushed tone, "Sam, go get Caleb."

"I didn't know ghosts could be knocked unconscious." Valerie remarked in barely masked surprise. Danny closed his eyes again, finding the effort of focusing on too many things was making his head hurt.

"Jazz...." he mumbled, "Getting tired... of being knocked out...." He heard his sister's soft laugh, a relieved tone coloring her voice as something was laid over his eyes.

"That's okay. We all got thrown for a loop when we got here. Caleb was already awake. He's been taking care of us as we wake up." she replied quietly.

"That's got an herbal remedy to help relax the muscles around your eyes and soothe away that headache you probably have. Don't move until I tell you to." Caleb's voice ordered and there was the sound of shuffling.

"How are you doing, Tucker?" Valerie asked and Danny turned his head slightly to hear better. "Is the aspirin working? I'm glad we didn't waste any on the ghost."

"Valerie, your discrimination isn't going to be of any help here. I thought you understood what happens when people cling to hurtful beliefs, but I guess I was wrong." the teacher remarked coldly.

"You shut up! What do you know about how life works?! You're just a stupid robot!" Valerie shot back.

"I have a soul. I'm alive. I know exactly how it works because I have to keep living." the android answered tersely, "Now tend to Tucker while I work on Danny. Sam, how's the Soulfire?"

"The fire?" Danny finally murmured, sitting up in shock before remembering he wasn't supposed to move and the sudden wave of nausea that passed over him told him why. He pressed his hand to his mouth, eyes shutting tightly as he forced the human reaction down. Jazz scolded him gently and pushed him back down onto a makeshift bed of blankets, replacing the cloth over his eyes.

"Yes, the fire. The Soul Stone began to burn once we were all here. Caleb showed it to us. It's a violet stone the size of the palm of your hand and it's surrounded by this beautiful white flame." she told him as she worked at getting him comfortable, "He keeps it in a silver box so the fire doesn't leap out and waste itself or blind us. We're learning some things about this place that aren't all that pleasant."

"Like?"

"The Soulfire is delicate and it burns in reverse, which means it starts off at a certain size, and it shrinks over time. The only ways to make it grow are to light small torches in Niflheim with it, battle ghosts and monsters to add their life to our fire, and hope that the section of Niflheim we enter grants us a boost as a reward for getting that far."

Danny sighed in resignation. Of _course_ it wouldn't be a piece of cake to make the fire grow and set it on the altar. Danny Phantom wasn't allowed a break in the whole ghost-fighting business.

"Why can't saving the world be an easy thing to do?" he griped loudly.

"'Cause then everyone else would have done it already. Especially yours truly." Sam remarked with a chuckle, "Soulfire's doing fine. It doesn't seem to be burning down."

"That's because we're camped. The Soulfire can tell when we're moving and when we're resting. It burns away as we move, but rests when we camp out." Caleb told her, "Once Danny's recovered, we'll move to the first teleporter. In the meantime, you should study your textbooks. The knowledge there will help you get through this adventure more easily." There were several groans and the sounds of backpacks opening, pages being flipped through, people moving around and getting comfortable. Danny managed a small grin; the fact that he was in ghost form now gave him an excuse to get out of studying. "I saw that. You rest." the android lectured, "I have a spell that can induce sleep, so don't tempt me into using it."

"Like I can sleep with a ghost hunter nearby?" Danny sighed and tried to let himself relax for rest.

* * *

"How much longer do we have to be here?" Valerie grumbled in irritation. Her voice woke Danny with a slight start. For a moment, his senses jumped to high alert, then panic set in when several bits of information hit him all at once. Valerie nearby, angry-sounding, probably fully armed; himself, either in ghost form or not, either one would mean trouble in that situation; he was on his back, the entirety of the front of his body exposed, vulnerable; he couldn't see, possibly blinded, how he got that way didn't matter, and there was the receding dull pain of what might have been a splitting headache. The result of an attack?

He gasped aloud in a panic, moving to get up but finding himself pressed back down. His other senses began bringing in the rest of his surroundings. The sounds of cloth and metal shifting about, fire crackling, his sister's voice murmuring words of calm and comfort to him as she pushed him back onto soft bedding; the smell of something cooking permeating the air. Danny recognized the scent, plenty of vegetables, no meat, probably a soup of some kind. Sam was sure to be smiling at such a dish.

He wished he could see that.

"We're here until I say Danny Phantom is able to see again, and from the looks of things, I believe he's awake now." Caleb returned evenly, "And will you aim that away from him? It may not hurt him anymore, but let's not encourage your trigger finger. He's on **my** bed." There were sounds of motion and the cloth covering Danny's eyes was finally removed, promptly replaced by a pair of fingertips holding his eyelids shut. "Not yet, Phantom. Just one last test and.... All right. You should be able to focus now. Do it slowly."

Following the teacher's advice, Danny slowly opened his eyes and looked around himself. The first brief glimpses he had of the strange book-world before the effort of taking in the sights overwhelmed him hadn't changed at all. The red and black clouds were still there, the floating platforms still were scattered around and his friends were sitting in a cluster near a cooking fire, books open on the floor before them.

"How are you feeling?" Jazz asked him, concern written on her face, "You startled me when you jumped awake like that." Danny offered a small smile for her benefit as he sat up, but said nothing of his earlier thoughts. He didn't want to worry her any more than she was already.

"I'm okay, just forgot where I was for a moment there." he returned softly. His gaze turned to the rest of the group, all of them holding small wooden bowls full of soup and watching him with mixed expressions. Apparently, they had been eating when he was jolted back to awareness. As they recognized he was okay, they returned to what they were doing beforehand. Sam enjoyed the all-veggie soup while Tucker prodded Caleb in attempts to have meat added. Valerie was eating cautiously, eyes never straying from the halfa. The teacher served out another bowl of soup, then held it out to him. The group paused in surprise, watching him offer the meal to the halfa. Danny looked around at his friends uncertainly, stopped at Valerie's startled expression, then swallowed and accepted the bowl.

He was starving and there was just no way he could pass up a meal without regretting it later.

"Stop staring at me." he finally muttered and fell to eating hungrily, barely tasting the stew as he shoveled spoonful after spoonful into his mouth. Eating in ghost form was possible, but he lost much of his sense of taste in the process. He was sure that, normally, the soup was probably delicious, but for now it seemed almost bland and boring. Eating to live, not to enjoy; one of the less pleasant after-effects of becoming a ghost.

"Ghosts... eat?" Valerie asked hollowly, gaping at the sight of the phantom wolfing down the soup.

"No, dey vant to suck yer blood!" Sam returned sarcastically, "Yes, ghosts eat. Some of them aren't that much different from us. But you'd rather just put holes in all of 'em, huh?" The huntress scowled at her, then set her bowl down, half empty.

"I just lost my appetite." she grumbled. Caleb poured the last of the soup into a container, then packed it and the pot away.

"Then you can help me clean up. We're getting ready to go." he told her and quietly worked together with Valerie to recollect the camping gear. Danny partially tuned out the activity, still not quite comfortable around the ghost hunter but aware that his friends would act swiftly to help him if she tried to make any kind of move against him. Satisfied by the soup, he set the bowl down with a contented sigh and blinked as Caleb picked it up swiftly and dumped a handful of sand into it, scrubbing quickly.

"Wha-?" Danny began in surprise.

"Quick clean. I don't want to waste water on washing dishes." the android remarked and inspected the bowl and spoon after he was done, "That and I don't want to leave anything that could be used to trace you." He tugged on the bedding and Danny flew into the air, watching the redhead roll up the blankets and pack them as well. Finally, Caleb picked up the silver box that held the Soul Stone. "Let's go." he told the group and they joined him in walking across the floating platforms and the crystalline bridges. Valerie didn't activate her hover board, preferring to conserve power. For that same reason, Jazz kept the Fenton Peeler in her purse. Sam and Tucker looked around in awe as Danny coasted over them.

"Where are we going anyway?" he asked the android below him.

"There's a teleporter somewhere on this level. If we can get to it, we can move to the next level of the Book." Caleb replied, "Every level has a teleporter. The trick is finding it and getting past the monsters guarding it." Danny grinned and flew higher. If all it took to move on the Altar of Darkness was a teleporter lost on the platforms, then he might as well fly ahead and pinpoint it first.

The airspace of the Book was eerily quiet but empty. There weren't any monsters or ghosts flying about, so Danny felt safe scouting ahead. Last thing he needed was to have a Harpy clawing up the back of his haz-mat suit. He looked down at the maze of platforms and blinked. Some of the platforms had large black torches set in the corners, but they were unlit.

"Huh, what could those be for?" Danny wondered to himself and watched his friends run across one of the many bridges towards a platform that had one such unlit torch. Caleb pointed to another path for the others to take, then darted to the torch. After a moment of doing something with the torch, a huge plume of blue fire erupted from the top of the black metal. A second later, Danny let out a yell of surprise, lifting his hand in shock.

A plume of white fire surrounded his hand, wrapping around his palm and licking at his fingers. Oddly enough, it didn't burn him. The flames faded away and Danny stared at his open hand. What had just happened?

"The longer this Book and that robot hang around here, the weirder things get." he muttered and searched the platforms again. A group of monsters seemed to materialize around a disk on one platform. Quickly tracing out a path from his aerial view, Danny headed back to rejoin the group.

"This way! There's a bunch of monsters over in that direction!" he called and shot over the open space to reach the pack of creatures. Valerie leaped up and activated her hover board, launching after him with her rifle in her hands.

"Hey, Ghost Kid! You're not gonna get away with joining your little ghost pals until I can get my gun fixed and destroy you!" she yelled and raced after the receding halfa. Caleb glared up at both figures, then motioned to Sam, Tucker and Jazz.

"Let's hurry and join them before anything goes wrong!" he declared and darted along the paths far faster than any of the humans following him.

* * *

The monsters were worse now that they had the home field advantage. Valerie yelled in a fury, firing blasts of light at dark-robed magicians with horned skulls for heads. Danny fought for air superiority with a pair of upgraded Harpies, both of whom were constantly firing off bursts of icy magic. Ectoplasm shields held off a majority of the spells, but Danny's Light-enhanced Ghost Rays weren't dealing damage as quickly as he'd liked. Weaving and dodging feather missiles, Danny waited for an opening to attack again.

"If my Ghost Ray isn't doing the job, then I guess I'll have to resort to a more hands on approach!" the halfa declared with a grin, shooting into the fray and slamming both feet squarely into one Harpy's stomach. The monster flew back with a squawk, colliding with its comrade before both exploded into nothingness. "Or should that be 'feet' on?" Danny amended, then flew backwards in surprise as a tornado of icy wind spun into existence. It lifted some of the robed wizards high into the air.

"Danny! Out of the way!" Jazz yelled from down below and the halfa dove away from a powerful ecto-blast. He glanced aside and brightened as he spotted Sam and Tucker run up to him, Jazz and Caleb standing side by side not far away in a team up, attacking monsters on ground and in the air.

_"Ice Tornado!"_ the redhead called out, surrounded by an icy white light. Another vortex appeared, lifting more monsters for Jazz to fire on.

"C'mon, Danny! We can't let them have **all** the fun!" Sam exclaimed, holding up her dagger before charging after another robed creature. Tucker offered a weak laugh when Danny gave him a puzzled look.

"Fun. Right." the technophile chuckled and rubbed his head, "Ah, you go ahead, Danny. I'll just stay back out of the way and cover for you from here." He brought out the Lens crossbow and began firing on the remaining monsters, a small battalion of skeletons wielding swords and shields.

"Man, this has got to be the _craziest_ field trip in history!" Danny sighed and flew in to help his friends.

With all of the teens fighting monsters and mana ghosts, the group was quickly cleared. The teleporter shone brightly and Tucker knelt to study it as Danny examined what little remained of the monsters. He picked up a sword, marveling at the ornate runes etched into the metal of the blade and the jeweled hilt. Lightly tracing the edge of the sword, he winced as he pressed too hard and sliced his fingertip. A line of green ectoplasm tinged with a pale red color leeched through the glove from the cut, dripping onto the floor.

"So ghosts **can** bleed." Valerie murmured, walking up behind him and staring at his hand. The halfa jumped in surprise and spun around to face her, startled. "Green goo. Ectoplasm. That's like ghost blood, right?" she added, then narrowed her eyes at it, a puzzled frown forming on her face, "Why's it got red blood mixed in?" Danny quickly stuck the bleeding finger into his mouth and gave a vague shrug, hoping his faint heart racing wasn't loud enough to be heard. Was Valerie trying to figure out that he was more than just a ghost? What would she do if she knew?

"Danny, don't play with that! You could hurt yourself!" Jazz scolded suddenly and pulled the sword from his free hand, "Look! You've already cut your finger, didn't you?" Even sucking on his fingertip, Danny managed to glare at her pointedly and not look like some kind of dork at the same time. Jazz blinked, glanced at Valerie and plastered on a fake smile. "Erm, but what do I know? You're just a ghost, right? You can heal it up on your own! It's not like I really care that much!" she quickly amended and hurried away.

"What was that all about?" the huntress demanded and Danny shrugged again, floating off to seek out the techno geek of the group.

"Hey, Tuck. What's the verdict?" he asked. Tucker tapped the disc thoughtfully, then sat back on his heels and looked up at him.

"Weird. This world is magic but this teleporter is magitechnology. It's just like the disc Caleb used to help Lloyd get the Soul Stone to us." he pointed out and looked over at the redhead for an explanation. Caleb only blinked back and shrugged helplessly.

"Don't look at me. There are still things even **I** don't know about." the android told him and waved his hand at the disc, "Just jump on and let's go!" With that, Caleb stepped onto the teleporter, vanishing in a beam of light. Tucker reached out and waved his hand into the space where the teacher had been.

"He's really gone. Do you think it's safe to use this?" he wondered aloud. The other teens stood around and looked warily at the disc.

"Lloyd used it and he came out of it fine." Jazz remarked, "If he survived using it, then it probably is harmless."

"So then you go first." Danny suggested with a broad grin, "Be a brave volunteer!" His sister scowled a bit.

"How about you go?" she returned and it wasn't long before they ran a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors to see who went. "Ha! I win again!" Jazz declared brightly, "You're so easy to figure out!" The halfa stuck his tongue out in irritation. In his opinion, using psychology to win a stupid game like that should be considered cheating.

"You do this often with him?" Valerie asked in confusion, baffled by the casual way Jazz interacted with Danny, "But, he's dangerous! You should have been blasting him, not goofing off!"

"And you should be getting over the fact that Danny's not just some evil ghost. He's a hero, remember?" Sam grumbled. The teen ghost looked between the two of them, sighed and shook his head as he stepped on the disc. This trip was going to be a stressful one, he just knew it.

* * *

"Took you long enough." the android muttered as Danny found himself dropping onto the same shimmering floor he had just left, "I swear, if you get lost in here, I am going to personally make the rest of your Hero career a half-living hell." The halfa glared at him, taking to the air as the rest of the group slowly began appearing behind Caleb.

"Hey, we didn't know if that thing was even safe to use!" Danny snapped back, "So excuse me for trying to make sure my friends will be all right using it!" Caleb huffed.

"It's safe. The Heroes of Union used them and nothing happened to them." he returned as the rest of Danny's friends and family began appearing on the platform with them, "Now, the rules have changed for this level. Take a look around. What is different?" The group took in the sight of the area. The clouds were now shades of blue and the platform they stood on was floating alone, cut off from other islands of glass that hovered in the strange space.

"Hey! We can't go on in this place!" Valerie yelled in frustration, "There aren't any bridges!"

"I bet these things are involved." Tucker remarked, jogging up to a twisted metal device set at the edge of the platform. There were two, one across the way, but this was the first he saw that pointed to another platform. Caleb walked up behind him and nodded.

"That's correct. These devices create bridges for us to cross with, but they demand a price to be activated." the android remarked, "For them to create the bridge, we must give them a small portion of the Soulfire." Valerie threw out her hands in protest.

"What?! No way! We need that fire to stay big or we're all done for!" she yelled and lifted a foot, "Why don't we just skip that and use my hover board to fly from platform to platform?" Jazz flipped through her textbook and tilted her head thoughtfully.

"Nothing in the book says that it isn't illegal to do that. What do you think, Caleb?" she asked. The android scratched at his head, expression momentarily blank as he thought it over.

"It could work. I don't think any of the Heroes of Union tried to fly over the gaps, so I'm not sure what could happen if we attempted that." he replied uncertainly.

"I don't think Valerie's hover board can carry all of us." Sam pointed out and folded her arms over her chest with a scowl, "And I can tell you right now, I am **not** riding with someone who insists on trying to waste Danny Phantom!" Valerie ground her teeth angrily, shaking her fist at the Goth.

"Fine! 'Cause I am **not** giving rides to anyone who is stupid enough to think that creep's a hero!" she snapped.

"Both of you, knock it off!" Caleb barked and tapped his foot impatiently, "Good Goddess, can't either one of you let go of your discriminations long enough to save the freaking world?!" He sighed and rubbed at his head. "All right. Let's see here. Valerie and Sam refuse to ride together, but we all need to fly to escape using Soulfire on the bridge devices." he muttered and looked over the group. After a moment, he nodded. "Okay, I have it. Tucker, you will ride with Valerie; Sam, you will fly with Danny; Jazz, you'll fly with me." he decided.

"I get to ride with Val?" Tucker asked in confusion.

"I'm carrying Sam?" Danny echoed, a blush growing across his cheeks that matched the bright red that crept over the Goth's face.

"Wait, how am I flying with you? Your flying machine thing broke." Jazz pointed out incredulously. Caleb sighed in exasperation, shaking his head.

"So all this time I get called 'angel' by everyone and everything, and it never occurs to you as to wonder why?" he asked and turned around. There was a faint sound of metal sliding against metal and the group watched in astonishment as several small extensions seemed to unfold from the android's back, clicking into place before firing bursts of brilliant red light that formed songbird's wings of energy. The panels moved in sync, and the wings flapped as Caleb turned back around and pushed off, floating above the glass platform with a grin on his face.

"Artificial wings! Cool!" Tucker exclaimed.

"What is that light?" Sam asked, gazing up at the shining red wings in wonder.

"Mana. I can force mana to feed into my wing system and generate these 'feathers' that support my frame. I can't use magic while flying, but the Wonder Fork can cover for me in that situation." Caleb replied brightly, "I designed, built and integrated these into my body about sixty thousand years ago, give or take a century. I'm rather proud of them."

"So cool! You really must be alive if you can improve upon your own design without the aid of your original creator!" Tucker declared, "Not only are you an android, but you're a flying android! Technology; still better than magic!" Jazz rolled her eyes and peered up at the wings.

"So they can support you, but can they handle carrying two people?" she asked, "And if you could use these the whole time, why were you flying on that machine?"

"Because these wings are my trump card. I don't pull them out unless they're necessary and I don't have any other options." Caleb replied, "And they can handle extra people just fine. I was careful in their design." He reached out to her and picked her up as Danny did the same with Sam and Valerie activated her suit and hover board, waiting as Tucker jumped onto it with her.

"Why aren't you using your upgraded suit, Val?" the halfa asked her in curiosity, "Those would probably work just as well in here, and maybe better."

"Not that it's any of your business, Ghost, but any time I use that armor, I get this freaky voice in my communicator that keeps telling me to join him and junk." Valerie retorted, "So I'm using a new suit that Mr. Masters sent me to keep it from infiltrating my frequency." She put a fingertip up to her mask, right about where her lips would be. "Speaking of Mr. Masters, I haven't heard from him in a while. He said he had a big meeting out of state and took off, but he didn't leave a contact number for me or anything." she mused aloud, "Well, at least he's not here. Wouldn't want him to be kidnapped by any of these freaky monsters."

"Yeah, that'd be a crying shame." Sam drawled out sarcastically as she held onto Danny's shoulder from her bridal position. She turned to whisper into the halfa's ear. "I bet Nebilim was trying to talk to her through the alternate suit because it was given to her by Technus. He probably thought she was a ghost, too, because of it. And Vlad took off to avoid getting sucked in by Nebilim's commands." Danny nodded imperceptibly and looked to the teacher for a signal.

"Well, let's get going." Caleb told the group, "We should make stops on each platform that has a black torch so we can light it and help the Soulfire grow." With that, the group took to the air, coasting over platforms in their search for torches and the level teleporter.

The flight started off peacefully, but before even a half-hour had passed several Harpies showed up, screeching in a fury. Caleb dove for one of the island platforms, the others following to drop off their passengers and prepare for battle. Beams of light and streams of magic lanced into the air, setting the bird-women to exploding in bursts of mana while their bodies collapsed to the glass like morbid rain. Valerie and Danny both took to the air, ramming into the monsters when they flew too close to their friends for them to safely use their weapons or powers.

The battle was chaotic and frenzied, and in the end Danny and his friends came out victorious. As the teens set to examining themselves for injury and treating small wounds, Caleb calmly walked over to one of the black torches, Sam following soon after once she spotted him leaving the cluster.

"These must be the torches Lloyd's group lit to help burn the Book." she remarked suddenly, reaching out to run her hand along the dark metal, "So, we should be lighting these too, right?" The Goth frowned slightly and pulled open her textbook again, searching the dog-eared pages for information, "But... we need a Sorcerer's Ring for that."

"True. I have a Ring that my first master crafted for me. I lit a torch earlier, but Danny moves us erratically so I haven't gotten to any more until now." the android replied and brought out the silver box to show her the fire. It surged outward in a bright glory, substantially larger than when it first started. "Not even close to the amount we need though." Caleb sighed, "Let's hope this torch has a large plume. That will give us a good boost." He held out his fist to the torch and Sam watched a tiny ball of white fire, same as the Soulfire in the box, burst out from a small ring he wore. It touched off on hidden kindling and a green flame erupted from the top of the torch. The Soulfire in the box swelled further, flaring wildly with the feeding of mana.

"Hey!" Danny yelled suddenly, waving his hands as white flame enveloped them again, "Whatever you guys are doing over there that's setting me on fire, _knock it off!_" Sam looked towards him in alarm as Caleb knocked on the torch and collected a small object from a hidden drawer before joining her, staring at the halfa with a puzzled look.

"Eeks! Danny! Stop, drop and roll!" Jazz yelled in a panic, waving her arms as Tucker raced up with a blanket to smother the flames, "Remember the fire drill at school!"

"That doesn't work on ghosts! Stop treating that ghost kid like he's alive!" Valerie shouted in frustration, "Are you all stupid or something?!" Tucker threw the blanket over Danny and immediately began slapping at the cloth, weighing down the half ghost until he was flattened against the platform and Valerie could see his legs kicking frantically from under the heavy blanket. Jazz continued to yell and wave her arms frantically, blurting out random first aid advice.

"We are **so** not Hero material." Sam groaned, smacking the heel of her hand against her forehead before pulling it over her face to hide her embarrassment. Caleb chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head.

"You'd be surprised who become Heroes." he assured her with a smile, "You're all doing fine. Don't worry. I'll spice up this adventure in the Archive so it won't seem so bad for history's sake."

Danny finally phased through the blanket, shooting into the air for escape. He panted, glaring down at Tucker as the boy sat up in confusion, blanket in his grip.

"Tucker! What is **wrong** with you?! I could have suffocated in there!" he yelled and waved his hands down at him, "Look, the fire's gone already!" He planted them on his hips and looked around with a faint scowl. "Man, what the heck happened? Is flying over the gaps against the rules or not?" he grumbled and flew past another gap to test it. There was another unlit torch there and he blinked at it first in surprise, then suspicion. He tapped his knuckles lightly against it, then held a hand out to study it. Nothing happened. Whatever the teacher did with the torches, it was making them light up. And each time one of them came on, white fire surrounded his hands. Like the first time it happened, the flames didn't burn, but Danny would feel a lot better if they didn't come at all.

What if it was a reaction to the armlets he was wearing? Could he be allergic to magic?

"Danny! Get back here!" Caleb yelled out towards him, "Don't wander off like that! I'm still responsible for you!" The group turned to stare at him in surprise as the halfa shot him a scowl.

"Excuse me? How is a robot responsible for a ghost?" Valerie growled, folding her arms over her chest.

"I knew him when he was alive." Caleb replied believably, glaring back at the halfa in the meantime, "Headstrong, reckless, and impatient... qualities that garnered him a reputation for seeking danger. See where it got him?" He gestured animatedly at the half-ghost, "Either you come back here or I'm gonna have to fly there and you won't like it if I have to make an unnecessary trip just to discipline you!" Danny made a face at him but flew back anyway, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.

"I want to take another aerial look around here and see where that teleporter is. That way, we can just fly to it and not waste time or attract more of the bird queens." he remarked. Valerie huffed and activated her board again, floating up to hover over the group.

"I can do the same thing and be a lot more trustworthy with my information than you, Ghost." she declared and the two set to glaring at each other. Sam sighed harshly and walked over to them, grabbing Danny by the ankle and walking off with him as if he were an animate balloon.

"Come on, Mr. Hero, let's just do this the way the textbook says. Caleb! Light the bridge points!" she griped as Danny yelped and waved his arms to keep his balance as he was pulled away. Tucker snickered, taking a few shots as Jazz sighed in exasperation and followed them, flipping through the book for extra information.

"Is any of this going to be in the final exam?" she asked aloud, "And do we get extra credit for destroying the Book of the Underworld, or is it counted as a separate school project?"

"Oh my God, we're completely losing it here." Valerie groaned softly and landed instead, hurrying after the group as they began lighting the devices to create the bridges over the platforms.


	11. Chapter 11

11

"Are they still trying to guard the teleporter?" Sam demanded to know as the group made their way to the platform where a large collective of monsters stood alert and wary. Caleb tilted his head and shrugged. "Don't they know we're just gonna cream them and take their lives to feed the Soulfire?" she added and pulled her knife free, "Gah! How lame! C'mon, let's do this before they notice we're here and make things more hellish than they need to be."

They dove at the monsters with yells to startle them and give the young heroes an edge in battle. Bolts of energy -yellow from Tucker's crossbow, green-white from Danny's enhanced Ghost Ray, red from Valerie's guns and white from the Fenton Peeler- all rained upon the serpent women and the griffins that milled around the disk in the center of the platform. With each monster that fell, the fire in the silver box grew and Danny shook off annoying little flames that licked at his hands and now his toes.

The skirmish was fast and heated, with fewer injuries on Team Phantom's side as Caleb held back and chanted incantations for healing spells, holding the giant fork out like a staff. Shimmering light spiraled at his feet, fueling the spells and rejuvenating the teens when they felt tired or weakened by the assault. By the time the effects wore off, the platform was covered in the remains of the monsters, their weapons and accessories clattering to the floor.

"Some of them dropped some charms and things." Jazz commented as she picked up a slip of paper with archaic writing on it and studied it curiously, "What were they carrying them for?"

"Luck in battle. Doesn't always work for them." Caleb remarked, poking at some of the other treasures, "There's some black silver here, too. Anyone need extra funds later? You can sell this stuff for a good amount of money." Valerie held up a hand and the robot tossed a few beads of the precious metal her way. "Don't spend it all in one place."

Once everyone had taken stock of themselves and their minor injuries, they headed for the teleporter, stepping on to warp to the next level.

* * *

"Okay, this is no longer cool in any way whatsoever." Danny groused as the teens and teacher arrived on the platform. The group looked around themselves in shock as they took in what looked like a perfect replica of Fenton Works. The phantom took in his surroundings and whirled around, glaring at Caleb. "What gives? I don't think the Book is supposed to do this kind of stuff! Why are we back in our... ah! Why are we in the Fenton Family's house?" he demanded of the redhead. Caleb stared around himself, an expression of utter horror on his face.

"I don't know! None of my records ever stated that this could happen!" he exclaimed, gesturing frantically, "This is all new to me too!"

_"You of the line of the land of the dead! Since you have brought the Fallen Angel into my domain, I saw fit to place a new challenge before you so as to test your strength."_ a voice boomed out, startling the group and sending Danny reeling in the air. Caleb cringed, clapping his hands over his ears as the others ducked, looking around wildly for the source of the voice. _"With this, you no longer possess the advantage the Angel had given you. I will be awaiting you, child, so that you may take your place by my side."_

"I'm not joining you!" Danny shrieked, clutching his head in pain, "Stop trying to control me!" There was laughter from the mysterious source, then it faded away to nothing.

"What the hell was that and why was it talking to you like that, Ghost?" Valerie demanded, pointing a gun at him out of habit. Danny wilted in exhaustion, floating down to hover only an inch or so above the floor of the Fenton Ops Center. Caleb moved to his side, holding an arm out to shield him.

"That would be the King of the Underworld, I assume. He's been trying to coerce Danny Phantom into joining him and he's been fighting that attempted mind control each time he tries." the teacher replied firmly, "Put the gun away. We have new problems."

Tucker studied the computer console of the Ops Center, tapping at the keys before shaking his head at Sam's questioning look. Jazz looked things over as well, glaring at some parts of the area that didn't jive with her. Valerie slid her weapon away, gazing around herself with equal parts confusion and wariness.

"Okay, so where are we again? We're still inside the Book, right?" she asked.

"Yeah. I can tell from the tech here." Tucker reported grimly, "He recreated the Ops Center, but this isn't Fenton technology." He tapped at the keys again. "I can't read this... hang on..." He pulled out his PDA and set it to scanning in the words on the console before running another program. "Bingo! It's magitechnology! Since this King never saw ectotechnology and doesn't know about it, it's replacing stuff with things it knows and recognizes!" he declared with a triumphant grin.

"Then let me have a shot at it." Caleb remarked and headed for the console himself, working the keys for a few moments before standing back and shaking his head. "Ugh, they don't do anything. It looks like magitechnology but there's nothing to them. It's fake."

"So then, what do we do? How do we find the teleporter in this?" Sam asked in confusion. She gestured at the Ops Center. "We got dumped here, on the roof of Fenton Works, so how do we find torches and whatever?"

"Maybe we should investigate and see what can be of use here." Jazz remarked slowly, still eyeing her surroundings with suspicion, "If this is anything like the real Fenton Works, there should be some things around here that can help us. Just gotta figure out what."

"Maybe they have a gun I can use on this stupid ghost." Valerie muttered, heading for the circle marked on the floor with the others. Danny had recovered from Nebilim's taunting by then and floated with the group over the transport tube's hatch.

"Ops Center! Six to the living room!" he called out a command and the tube lifted over them, activating the suction that pulled them from the Command Center and deposited them in the main room of the house.

* * *

"Whoa. This place looks different." Tucker remarked once the group arrived in the living room. "You guys sure this is Fenton Works?"

The room was painted a more subdued color and the furniture was far simpler than what they were used to in the real world Fenton Works. There were fewer photos on the walls and from what they could see of the kitchen, it wasn't as well furnished. The group spread out, checking out the living room as Caleb eyed the area and stood in place, mulling things over and trying to puzzle through the changes. Danny floated from place to place, confused.

"I don't get this. Why's the house different here compared to the house back in the real world?" he wondered aloud.

"There aren't any monsters in the living room or the kitchen." Valerie remarked as she and Tucker re-entered the room, "Looks like the coast is clear in this part of the Fenton house. Wanna check the rest?"

"Good idea. Tucker, check the bathrooms and see if they're clear. Caleb, you like poking around in the lab, so you can check out the basement." Sam began ordering the group, "Valerie, scope out the master bedroom on the second floor. Jazz, you can handle your room and Phantom and I will check out Danny's room." She sighed tiredly and wiped a hand over her forehead. "If everything's clean, we can spend some time here resting. What time is it?"

"My internal chronometer states that it is now eleven fifty-two p.m., our second day in the Book." Caleb reported, "It would be wise to spend the night here, if it's safe. We can start fresh in the morning and I can use the facilities to make breakfast." The group nodded and split up, each member taking a room to investigate.

* * *

Valerie knocked on the master bedroom door, a small ecto-gun in one hand. After a moment, she grabbed the knob, took a deep breath and shoved it open, thrusting the gun forward for quick attacking just in case anything jumped at her. Nothing jumped at her, nothing tried to rush her in some kind of ambush; all she saw was a simply decorated master bedroom. The walls were a drab yellow color and there was this odd feeling of being in a sepia-toned photograph.

She relaxed only the slightest bit as she entered the room and looked around further, checking the bathroom and closet before deciding the place was clean. Sitting on the bed, Valerie sighed tiredly and finally slipped her ecto-gun back into its holster.

"What a weird day. The Book dumps us in a copy of Fenton Works but..." she muttered and picked up a bedside photo of the Fentons. Maddie and Jack looked much younger in the image, but it had the bright, crisp color of a newly taken photo. "Why would this place look and feel like it belongs in the past?" she mused at last.

* * *

Jazz sat on her own bed, arms wrapped around her knees in a hug as she took in her surroundings. The walls were a baby pink, with matching furniture that was much smaller than she usually had, and the closet was filled with girl's clothes. A step-stool was in place to help her reach the racks. The bed itself was small, with stuffed animals of all kinds on the fluffy comforter, including Bearbert. But Bearbert didn't have the comfortably worn look to him, didn't have the appearance of all the trials of being dragged around by a growing girl, of being well-loved and cared for over the years.

This Bearbert was brand new, fresh from the store, and this room was decorated for a little girl.

Jazz shivered, looking around herself again and wincing at her memories of this time and place.

"I miss Mom and Dad." she murmured and buried her face in her arms, blocking out her past as best she could.

* * *

Sam opened the bedroom door carefully, letting Danny slip in first to cover for her. His gasp of surprise had her open it more fully, hurrying in to help him and face down whatever shocked him. No ghost or monster startled them, only the sight of the room filled with boxes and looking like anything but a bedroom for a teenage boy. Danny floated in the center of the room, looking around himself with wide eyes and open mouth.

"Wh-what is this? What happened to my room?" he exclaimed and flitted from one wall to another, "My star charts, my model shuttle, my computer...! It's all gone!" Sam walked the perimeter of the room herself, lips pulled into a thoughtful frown as she ran her hands over the boxes. This was definitely strange. They had gone to the same room as always, yet it looked as it hadn't ever been lived in. Was this _really_ Fenton Works?

"Danny, are you sure this is your room? Maybe we went into the wrong one?" she finally suggested and the half-ghost shook his head furiously, hands splayed over one section of wall and glaring at it as if to will his NASA poster back into existence.

"If this is that Underworld guy's idea of torturing me into joining him, then he can just forget it. All this does is tick me off even more!" he growled. Sam rolled her eyes and paused in front of one of the boxes. A sudden thought occurred to her and she ripped the packing tape off the top, opening the cardboard and sifting through the foam peanuts. Danny turned at the sound and stared at the Goth pulling out random wooden bars and panels, each one pale and smooth with the lack of paint. "Sam? What are you doing?" he questioned, touching down beside her as she emptied the contents of the box onto the floor.

"I just had a wild idea. Go with me on it and help me put this together." Sam returned, already busy with fitting the wood bars into one of the flat pieces. Sighing, Danny called up the transformation rings to return to human form and sat before the Goth, following her example of fitting bars to boards.

* * *

Tucker lay sprawled on one sofa, gazing up at the ceiling in boredom as Caleb returned from his exploration of the basement to join him.

"So is the lab still okay, or was it all replaced with magitechnology too?" the teen asked him lazily. Caleb shook his head, a neutral expression on his face.

"There was no lab. The basement was merely a basement. I found a pair of work tables and the beginnings of some crude ectotechnology, but nothing that could be defined as Fenton Works." he reported, folding his arms over his chest while Tucker shot up in alarm and disbelief.

"What? No lab?" he blurted out and dashed off for the stairs to take a look himself.

It was just as Caleb had said. Tucker stopped at the foot of the stairs, gaping at the large empty space. Gone were the walls covered in prototype and functioning ghost weapons and blueprints; gone were the tables and lab equipment, the rows of Fenton Thermoses, Fenton Anti-Creep Sticks, Fenton Foamers, and Fenton Ointment. A shiver ran down Tucker's spine as he gazed at the back wall, its surface smooth and unblemished.

No Fenton Ghost Portal.

"Where are we?" he murmured in shock, jumping at the sound of Caleb's voice right behind him.

"Not 'where', Tucker. This is more of a '**when** are we' question." the android replied softly, "It's safe to assume that this... is the Fenton Works of the past."

* * *

Danny and Sam stared at their completed project in silence, taking the time to fully understand what they had just built and what it meant to them. On occasion Danny would tilt his head one way, then the other, as though changing the angle of his view would somehow give him another explanation, or make the thing go away. Sam poked at it after a bit before sighing and giving her friend an uncertain grin.

"It's a nice natural wood, at least." she began with what she hoped was a safe comment.

"It's a crib, Sam." Danny countered dully and the Goth rubbed the back of her neck, unable to protest against that.

"Well... it's a very nice crib..." she ventured.

"It's **my** crib, Sam. Mom showed me pictures of it when we put together the photo album that we sent to Grandma Fenton."

The two teens stared at each other over the bit of baby furniture for a long second, silence filling the air and choking the pseudo-normal atmosphere. Finally, Danny sighed and dropped his head into his hands.

"What is this supposed to **mean**? I don't get it. Nebilim dumps us in Fenton Works, but it's the Fenton Works _before_ I was born." he muttered irritably, "It's got the Ops Center, yeah, but the rest of it looks like something out of one of those old shows. Y'know, like the kind Lancer probably watches." Sam stood and hefted up the crib, moving it to one side of the room and leaving it there with a soft grunt.

"Well, we won't get the answers just staring at this thing. Let's get back downstairs, get our stuff and camp for the night." she decided firmly, "Maybe we'll get some more clues in the morning." Danny made some odd noise that she wasn't sure meant 'yes' or 'no', but he transformed back into his Phantom self and got up so Sam assumed he would be following her.

The two of them joined the rest of the group in the living room, where Caleb had already pushed the furniture out of the way and was getting a fire started in the fireplace. Sleeping bags and blankets were already spread; apparently there had been some silent unanimous vote that the rooms themselves wouldn't be used for sleeping that night. The fireplace lit up with a blaze and Danny yelped, waving his arms and legs in the air to try putting out the white flames that started licking at his limbs again. Caleb stared up at him, startled expression on his face that was quickly wiped clean, replaced by a suspicious glare at the mantle.

"I hate it when the rules change." he grumbled and walked off.

It was clear by the disturbed expressions on Tucker, Jazz, and Valerie's faces that they also found signs of Fenton Works being far too different for comfort. They sat together in a circle, mulling things over while they waited for Caleb to come out of the kitchen. The food there was edible and he'd taken to making something light for dinner, his anxiety showing itself in the only way it could. The box with the Soulfire was nested safely among his possessions on one of the relocated couches, so there was little fear of the flame dying out anytime soon.

Valerie would twitch every so often, shooting glares at Danny as though to blame him for their situation but made no other motion or attempt to shoot him. Perhaps she finally recognized the futility of it since her guns were calibrated to avoid harming the halfa? Or maybe it was because Caleb had donated his bedding to him again and gave Valerie another warning to not shoot at his blankets.

Jazz was a bit worse, or better, depending on how one looked at her. She looked calm, but her eyes kept straying to the grandfather clock. Danny followed her gaze a few times, but there didn't seem to be anything odd about it. That clock had been in the house for as long as he could remember and, according to Jack and Maddie, it had been given as a gift for him. It stood in the den as the family clock, though it was sort of family knowledge that it would be wholly Danny's clock once he was grown and had a place of his own to put it in. So why it was that Jazz kept flinching at the sight of it was beyond him. She usually just ignored the thing back home.

Caleb finally emerged from the kitchen, carrying a large platter of sandwiches and cups of cocoa that he set on a coffee table in the center of the circle of bedding. Everyone dug in, silent as they ate or sipped at the hot drinks. Danny clutched his mug in his hands, gazing at the contrast of his glowing white gloves against the deep blue ceramic and the dark chocolate. It was strange to be eating normally while in Phantom form, but it was also somewhat comforting. More proof that he was still human, even in this specter-like state.

Everyone was beginning to succumb to sleep, crawling into sleeping bags with weapons positioned close by for safety and reassurance. Danny himself nodded drowsily, fighting to outlast Valerie so he could be sure she was fast asleep before letting his own guard down to rest. After all, he wasn't counting on luck to help him keep his ghost form up when he finally did konk out for the night. He gripped the mug tighter and that was the last thing he remembered doing before the sight of the flames in the fireplace went out of focus, then faded to nothing.

* * *

Morning brought the sound of something very odd that Danny couldn't quite place. He frowned slightly and pulled the blanket up closer around his shoulders, hoping to ignore it long enough to get back to sleeping. No such luck there; something tickled his face, something that felt feathery soft and seemed to dissolve into the air after making contact with his face.

"Nngh, too early. Five more minutes." Danny complained groggily.

"I already bought you most of the night and part of this morning." Caleb growled under his breath, "Now change back into your ghost self or we're going to have issues today."

That woke Danny up completely. Flailing in the tangle of blankets, he got an arm free to take a look and found it perfectly whole and human. As he had feared, he'd fallen asleep suddenly and dropped Phantom form while unconscious. Had Valerie seen him? He looked around quickly, stopping in confusion at the sight of the redhead sitting beside him and facing the fireplace, mana wings spread out and shielding him from sight. Peeking around the 'feathers', Danny watched the rest of the team beginning to stir and wake up.

"You sat here the whole night?" he asked the teacher as he called up the rings and transformed into Phantom again. Caleb nodded shortly, the wings folding up and sliding away upon recognizing his ectomana balance shift. "Thanks." Danny murmured, turning intangible to free himself of the mass of blankets more easily.

"Mm." Caleb only muttered, getting to his feet and dusting himself off. He headed for the kitchen, probably to make breakfast. Danny began rolling up the blankets, greeting his friends as they each woke and sat up to take in their surroundings. Probably still trying to come to terms with where they were in the Book...

"Ugh, and here I thought you were just a nightmare I was having." Valerie grumbled upon seeing Danny and got to her feet, "Tucker, does the bathroom here work?"

"Yeah." the boy yawned out, groping for his glasses. Valerie smiled more cheerfully.

"Great! Then I've got dibs on first shower." she declared and ran for the stairs. Jazz watched her head off and sighed.

"Fenton Works has three bathrooms; one in the master bedroom, one in the hallway and one in the Ops Center." she grumbled, rolling up her bedding, "Don't see why she thinks we only have one bathroom. It's not like we're **that** poor!"

"Why are we still here?" Sam growled, rubbing at one eye as she stayed put in her own bed, "You'd think Nebilim would be back to taunt us or something. Maybe try turning this place into some dungeon while we were asleep."

"Might as well already be one." Jazz muttered, shooting another dark look at the grandfather clock.

Once everyone had their chance to freshen up and be more inclined to face the day, they returned to sitting in the living room to eat breakfast. Caleb declined joining them, choosing instead to investigate the grandfather clock that irked Jazz so much.

"Well, what do we know about this weird version of Fenton Works?" Danny finally began, poking at the remnants of his bacon and eggs, "Besides the fact that it creeps me out a heck of a lot more than the real Fenton Works."

"Danny's room is completely unfurnished, and there's only baby furniture packed in boxes in there." Sam supplied first, studying her cinnamon roll as if it would divulge its secrets if she kept a steady glare on it, "Almost as if Danny was expected, but hadn't yet been born." Jazz twitched, stabbing her toast with her fork.

"The master bedroom looks pretty drab and dull." Valerie agreed, "And the only photos there were of the Fentons in their younger years. No Danny Fenton in any of them." She shivered. "That was creepy beyond all reason. A world without Danny Fenton? It just wouldn't feel right." the ghost hunter added under her breath.

"The basement was just a basement. Like, they hadn't even gotten the lab started yet." Tucker added, a worried expression on his face that refused to leave, even when faced with his own bacon and egg breakfast, heavier on bacon than egg. He gave a small shrug. "It's weird, seeing it totally empty like that. No Ghost Portal or anything." They went silent after that, then collectively looked at Jazz. She blinked back at them.

"What?" she asked, expression quickly turning sour, "Why are you looking at me? This place is **not** normal; what more do you need to know?" She jabbed her toast a few more times. "Let's just find the teleporter and get to the next level already!"

"I don't remember this symbol on the clock back in the real Fenton Works." Caleb said suddenly. All eyes went to him in confusion but he didn't bother looking at them, knocking lightly on the engraved symbol just below the face of the clock. "This is angelic language. It means 'shame'. The time is also stopped at two fifteen." Jazz squeaked and Caleb looked her way in confusion, the rest of the teens following gazes back to her. "Do you know why there would be the symbol for shame on this clock?" he asked.

Danny kept his eyes on Jazz, puzzled expression on his face that only hinted at the hurt he felt. Why would his sister feel shame about his clock? It was just some old clock, right? She squirmed under all the eyes focused on her and he glanced away, feeling guilty over staring. Maybe she wasn't feeling shame about the clock itself, but who it represented?

"Wh-why would I know anything about it? What if Nebilim put that there just to freak us out?" Jazz replied quickly, folding her arms over her chest, "I, for one, refuse to have mind tricks played on me by some million-year-old ghost that Danny is just going to shove into a Thermos!" Caleb only shrugged and pressed his fingertips to the symbol, then shrugged again.

"It's not responding." he simply said and went to sit at the couch next to his belongings. Jazz rolled her eyes, getting up to check out the clock herself.

"It's just a bunch of random lines and curves someone carved into the wood!" she protested and touched her fingertips to it as well, "See? Nothing special at all!"

The symbol suddenly lit up, glowing radiantly as several new symbols shimmered into the air around her. Caleb sat up straighter, brow furrowed as he scanned the images in the air. The teens jumped up at the sight, calling out to her.

"Jazz! Get away from that thing!" Danny cried in alarm.

"What the heck is that?" Sam exclaimed and the group looked around as a voice began to speak from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

_"A family who hunts ghosts proudly hides a skeleton in shame. Trust that is broken may be rebuilt and strengthened, or it may shatter and never recover. You are seen as an outcast, with the barest of connections. Will you break that trust?"_ the voice questioned. Jazz stood frozen before the clock, eyes wide with horror. She shook her head quickly, still staring at the symbol on the grandfather clock, and the glowing images around her faded away. The one on the clock itself lost its glow, returning to being simple lines and curves once again.

Everyone was silent, stunned by the voice and the display of symbols.

"I think I speak for everyone here when I say 'What the heck was that?'." Tucker managed to quip nervously. All eyes turned from Jazz to Caleb, who had threaded his fingers together and rested his chin on them, a thoughtful frown on his face.

"It's a Trial." he finally said flatly, "Mithos did the same thing to Lloyd in the city of Welgaia on Derris-Kharlan, when he kidnapped all of his companions to lure them to join him and fight against Lloyd, using their personal tragedies and mistakes against them in order to break their spirits. To overcome the shadows of their past and the sins they carried needlessly, those companions faced them in the form of high level monsters called Trials." He traced one of the symbols into the air with a finger. "The Trials were given names specific to what they were struggling with." he added and returned to his starting pose, chin resting on his hands, "In this case, Jazz must face the Trial called The Ashamed."

"I don't like this. This stinks of set-up." Sam growled, glaring at the ceiling as though to scowl at whatever brought this new turn of events.

"Jazz is **not** facing some lame monster boss by herself!" Danny hissed at the teacher.

"I never said she would do it alone, just that it had to be done." Caleb returned evenly, "You heard the words. It asked if she would do it, she said no, and the Trial went back to sleep." Valerie sighed harshly, polishing her ecto-gun out of nervous habit.

"Then let's just find the teleporter and get to the next level! Screw this Underworld King's stupid Trial monster!" she declared, eyes flashing dangerously. When the teacher made no motion to get up, she did herself, glaring at him furiously. "Fine! Then I'll do it myself!" With that, she marched off to start a more thorough search of the house. Sam pulled out her textbook, flipping through the pages with an intent expression.

"That voice said some weird things. Maybe it's a clue to what the Trial might be like." she muttered. Danny shifted uncomfortably in his seat, mind spinning with all the new changes that were being made to the trip. The levels of the Book were shifting; now they were going to have to face these Trials? What was Nebilim up to anyway?

He looked to Caleb in hopes of getting an answer of some sort, but the android was only watching the clock, eyebrows furrowed in a pensive expression. He had already said that what was going on was new to him, but he knew about the Trials. Danny supposed that the Trials being **in** the Book was also new to him, so there might not be much info there. But if the Trials were based on a person's sins and shadows, then why would it react to Jazz like that? What could his sister have done that was so bad? As much as he wracked his memories to find a clue, Danny just couldn't think of a single thing. She'd always been the good girl, the little Miss Perfect Grades and Perfect Attendance. Jazz Fenton, the greatest teacher's pet to ever walk the face of the Earth. She couldn't break a rule if one begged her for it.

Jazz had moved as far from the clock as she could, parking herself on a couch and holding her head in her hands in misery. The look on her face could make a puppy cry, in Danny's opinion. He ached for her; surely he could be of some help, otherwise what kind of hero was he?

"Jazz..." he began and she jerked as if she'd been slapped.

"It wasn't like that!" she exclaimed suddenly, eyes wide. She blinked at the startled group, then sat back, once again taking on the air of maturity that had always annoyed the halfa. "I mean, it wasn't like I was ashamed or anything. The clock's just trying to scare us. Nebilim's trying to use psychological torments against us, and he thought to start with me because of my relationship with Danny." she amended firmly, giving a haughty, curt nod as Valerie returned from her quest to find the teleporter.

"Nothing. Every room's totally clean. No teleporter, no clues... we're trapped." the huntress growled, shooting a glare at Danny, "And I know just the creep to blame for this too!"

"No one asked you to come, Val." Danny groused back, resting his cheeks in his hands as he glared at the fireplace, "You getting stuck is your own stupid fault. I'm just here to beat Nebilim and get everyone out."

"If we're stuck in **this** Fenton Works, does that count towards Nebilim's little hostage collection?" Tucker asked out of the blue.

"Yes." Caleb returned dryly. He looked away from the clock to watch Sam for a moment, then glanced aside at Jazz before resting his gaze on the technophile. "And we can blame Jazz for it. She's refusing the Trial, so the Trial will keep us here forever." The carrot-top winced, but held her ground.

"He's right, you guys." Sam announced grimly, lifting her head from the book, "It says here that Lloyd and his group tried to progress without completing the Trials, and a sinister trap that protected the way to Vinhelm sent the ones who ran from the Trials back to their cells." She shook her head slowly. "There's no escaping this. Jazz has to face the Trial, or we'll never leave." Her eyes closed in consideration. "But those words... they sounded like something Jazz has to do first to expose the Trial. _'A family who hunts ghosts proudly hides a skeleton in shame...'_" she echoed softly and opened her eyes, turning them on the older teen in alarm, "The Fenton Family has a skeleton in their closet; that's a dark secret, being hidden out of shame. Jazz? What is that secret?" Jazz shook her head furiously.

"Trust that is broken may be rebuilt and strengthened, or it may shatter and never recover." Caleb remarked dully, "To reveal the skeleton hidden will quite probably destroy all trust in the Fenton Family as ghost hunters." His eyes slid over to Jazz's huddling form. "Appears as though I'm right." he added quietly.

"Jazz?" Danny whispered, eyes wide and searching his older sister's face, hoping and praying that the android was wrong. There couldn't possibly be something that was hidden by the Fenton Family that she was so ashamed of; after all, he was a Fenton and he didn't know of anything that could be so damaging to their reputation. They were already considered kooks and weirdos by the town. What could possibly be worse? Jazz lifted her eyes to gaze at him, then glanced away quickly, letting his own heart sink so far it may as well no longer be in his body. No, no there couldn't be something so horrible!

Jazz sighed heavily, shakily, as though trying to swallow tears. She blinked rapidly and tilted her head back, still clutching her arms in her self-hug.

"I guess... I guess... I've got no choice." she sighed and got up, making her way to the grandfather clock. The teens watched in collective alarm as she reached out and touched the symbol, activating its light once more.

_"A family who hunts ghosts proudly hides a skeleton in shame. Trust that is broken may be rebuilt and strengthened, or it may shatter and never recover. You are seen as an outcast, with the barest of connections. Will you break that trust?"_ the voice from before intoned. Jazz shut her eyes tightly, then sighed again.

"Yes."

_"Then reveal your shame."_ the voice commanded and Jazz returned to her seat, hugging herself again.

"Before Danny was born... before Mom and Dad got their stable foothold in ghost-hunting..." she finally began, her words breaking at odd times, "We didn't have much money or backing for their research. Even if they found a truly haunted house or domain, they wouldn't be able to do anything because their technology wasn't financed enough to pick anything up."

The teens remained silent, sitting where they were to listen in, reserving their judgments for the moment.

"They got a call one day, when Mom was only a few months pregnant with Danny. This elderly widow told them that her house was haunted and nothing was chasing the spirits out. She begged for Mom and Dad's help and they hurried over to check it out. They thought they finally had a break, that someone would finally acknowledge their scientific research. And she was rich, by the looks of her mansion, so she might hold some financial sway for them if they were able to capture a real ghost.

"But... but there wasn't a ghost... The house was old, and it suffered some deterioration. The woman wasn't... healthy. Not mentally. Creaking boards, drafty walls, holes in the frames... her mind translated all the disrepair into hauntings." Jazz went on, squeezing her eyes shut, "Mom and Dad felt bad for her, and they went around fixing up her house, telling her that they were chasing the ghosts out with their actions. The woman was so happy, so pleased with how the ghosts were disappearing so quickly, so oblivious to the patched frames and corked holes and new floorings. She paid Mom and Dad so much and she was especially pleased to learn that Mom was going to have a baby. She had this pride that another ghost hunter would be born, doting on Mom like a godmother. To hear her talk, it was like she was including herself into our family.

"Mom and Dad didn't have the heart to tell her what was really going on with her house. She had so much faith in their work, believed in them so earnestly. Her money funded the development of the Fenton Ghost Portal. She died before Danny was born, but she had her will rewritten long before that.

"A nice amount of money was given to Mom and Dad to provide for their research and for me and Danny. For Danny specifically, however, she willed her antique grandfather clock, her family's heirloom. Her descendants were rather well off, it didn't seem like any of them cared much for the clock, but they thought of us as con artists, tricking that old woman out of valuables while she was delusional." Jazz finished her story in murmurs, tears beginning to roll down her face, "The looks on their faces when we arrived to accept the clock... it was horrible. That's why... that's why I want to be a psychologist. So I can help people like that old woman and make sure they aren't taken advantage of by real con artists." She gazed over at the clock, sobbing quietly. "She... she died at two-fifteen in the afternoon, in the hospital. She had fallen sick and never really recovered. That clock... that's why it's frozen at that time."

Caleb moved his eyes from her to the rest of the teens, watching their expressions as each of them digested the story in their own way.

Sam had this odd look, halfway between horrified and disgusted, one hand lifted to cover her mouth as her skin paled further. Tucker only looked away, refusing to look at the older girl, his jaw working as he stared into the fireplace. Valerie looked angry, which was understandable given that the story should have elicited outcries about the untrustworthiness of the Fenton Family. Danny himself had just seemed to mentally lock up, staring straight through his sister as though she wasn't even there.

"The Fentons... the Fentons got their money... by going along with an old woman's delusions?" Valerie hissed, "That's... that's so wrong! Why? Couldn't they have gotten her some help? Why just take her money and feed her delusions that much more?" Jazz shut her eyes again, seeming to resign herself to taking the abuse alone, as her little brother remained frozen in place.

Caleb, though only hearing the story for the first time as well, remained expressionless. He'd heard far worse in the span of his existence. His judgment was simply one of acknowledgement and acceptance, though he didn't make any motion of the kind, didn't say anything about it. This was her sin, and compared to others he'd encountered and carried, it was one that was easily forgiven in his mind. He glanced around, then rose to his feet with a sigh, noting the walls beginning to fade and disappear. Furniture dissolved into nothing, startling the group as Jazz dropped down onto the floor with a yelp. The android walked past them, spinning the giant fork at his side.

"The Trial is open." he murmured and a dark portal appeared on the floor as the living room transformed into a wide plane of shimmering glass floating in the strange world that was the interior of the Book. "Jazz! This is your Trial! Come and face the darkness that lies within your heart!" Caleb declared, lashing the fork forward at a shadowy figure that rose from the sinewy black portal.

The carrot-top gave a start at those words, staring first at the figure that hovered there, waiting for her, then looking towards the rest of the group that remained unmoving, still caught up in the revealing of the Fenton Family secret. No response from them. She turned toward her brother, her expression pleading for some sign that she wasn't rejected for what had happened in the past, for hiding something like that for so long. The halfa simply kept his head bowed, lips moving without a sound, eyes hidden from view by his hair.

Alone, Jazz rose from her position by them and ran towards the android, blinking away the tears and grabbing the Fenton Ghost Peeler from its place in her purse, activating it with the press of a button. By the time she was at Caleb's side, she was fully armored and armed.

"Caleb... thanks for staying by me, at least." she murmured softly, "I guess this means... I'm not part of the group anymore." She chuckled, a hollow laugh. "Trust was broken and shattered forever, huh? Well, let's get this over with." And she directed her glare at the shadowy image of herself floating above the portal, clad in a beautiful dress that looked highly expensive and wielding a staff of elaborately carved gold and gems, but her expression was one of torment, a band of steel clamped over her mouth. A closer look showed the gown was stained with dark splotches and seemed especially tight and constricting, bound at some points with chains, the staff shackled to her wrist.

_"Pay for your crimes. You don't deserve trust."_ the girl spoke despite her sealed mouth, lifting a hand to point at Jazz before raising her staff and lashing it downward, hurling a cluster of fireballs at her and the android.

"Let's go!" Caleb declared, dodging the attack and summoning up a circle of light, _"Defend us from the blows of the enemy! Field Barrier!"_ As before, the shimmering blue light of magic covered him and Jazz, increasing their defense as the carrot-top fired bursts of Light-imbued energy from the cannon on her hand. The Ashamed shook under the blows, then spun and lashed the staff again, sending a wave of wind rushing down to knock Jazz over.

* * *

The rest of the gang remained huddled nearby, watching as they struggled to cope with their new knowledge.

"How could they...?" Valerie continued muttering angrily to herself.

"It's not fair." Danny finally whispered, "She suffered like this for so long, and she wants to help others like that woman. How can we just turn our backs on her like that? How does that justify anything?" Sam and Tucker looked towards him in surprise. It had been a while since they'd heard his voice. The boy phantom lifted his head, glaring at the group before turning a stern gaze towards his sister and their teacher, battling it out with the floating shadow. "Everyone has something they're ashamed of; why should anyone make themselves out to be better than another person just because that person's secret got revealed?" he went on and got to his feet, rising to a hover as his hands glowed with ectoplasmic power. "The Fenton Family might have gotten their start a little less than honorably, but they did their best to make up for it! They helped that woman, they became friends with her when she was in trouble and did what they could to ease her fears!"

Sam, Tucker and Valerie all looked at each other in silence, equal parts grim and ashamed as well by how they had reacted on the outset. The Goth got to her feet and pulled her dagger free, an expression on her face that she usually wore when championing for nature and other such causes.

"We've all got our dirty secrets. We trust each other despite those secrets because we have faith! Faith that our friends will keep doing the right thing to atone for that shame and will help us face what **we're** ashamed of!" she declared and Tucker jumped to join in, Lens gun in hand.

"Yeah! The Fentons are good people! They're our friends!" he agreed, "We trust Jazz to have good advice and be Danny's big sister no matter what!" Valerie looked to each of the three teens before sighing and standing up to join them, clicking her heels to activate her ghost hunting gear and suit.

"Well, she did the right thing confessing and all. And, I guess I can understand where she's coming from." she added solemnly, "It's hard to get a start from the bottom, and you take what you can get, hoping to make up for it later on. The Fentons are working to develop good ghost hunting gear to make up for the cruddy stuff they had when the woman asked for help. Jazz wants to be a psychologist, to help others like her. And poor Danny's the most innocent of all; he's got no clue and he probably never will." The phantom winced, but said nothing, just rushed forward with a rebel yell as he let a blast of the Ghost Ray fly.

* * *

Jazz gave a start at seeing the familiar ghostly-green beam rush over her and hit The Ashamed head on, the shadow girl staggering in the air from the blow before recovering again, her hollow eyes focusing on the incoming teens with fury. The carrot-top looked around herself in surprise, seeing Danny's friends rushing in to stand by her, weapons drawn and aimed at the Trial monster. But... why? She had thought that none of them would rally by her after she had confessed the Fenton Family's darkest secret!

"Wh-what are you doing here?" she exclaimed without thinking and Danny floated beside her with a lopsided grin.

"Looking after my sis... and a member of my team." he returned softly, winking once before charging up another Ghost Ray. Jazz's eyes widened before watering up in joy. She hadn't been rejected; her brother wasn't ashamed of her, his friends were coming to her defense, she wouldn't have to suffer the secret anymore.

She was free of that shame, knowing that she was doing good to make up for feeling that way before. And being accepted despite that secret meant she could now do good for the sake of others rather than the sake of soothing her inner wounds.

_"Pretty words from those you love mean nothing. You still bear the sins of the knowledge you carry. Sins come with a price and yours is to be paid with the trust from others."_ The Ashamed declared coldly, raising her staff again. Sam dashed in and made a leap at the shadow figure, slashing her leg with the dagger and sending her to stagger again.

"Oh, shut up! Everyone's got something they're ashamed of, but that doesn't mean they **have** to lose the trust of others to deal with it! We'll all bear Jazz's sin together!" she declared furiously once she landed, shaking her fist at the Trial monster with all her Gothic wrath, "Who gave you the right to act so judgmental about Jazz?"

The Ashamed only raised her staff, the gems embedded into its head glowing brilliantly as the air began to whirl around them in a whisper, gradually rising to a malevolent howl. The teens looked around themselves warily, gripping onto whatever weapons they had on hand, before turning to look to Caleb for a sign of what was coming. The android had on a grim expression, which didn't grant the group any bit of comfort.

"You might not want to stand still for this one." he finally remarked and darted aside. Tucker blinked owlishly before yelping and running to one side as well. It took the rest of Team Phantom and Valerie a second more to understand what the teacher meant before they, too, scattered over the field.

_"Bring forth punishment to the sinners! Retribution!"_ the shadowy girl declared, and a wave of light rushed forth from the jeweled staff, passing over the entirety of the platform. Sam and Tucker dropped to their knees, gasping as their faces turned green from sudden poisoning. Valerie simply collapsed, screaming in agony as her muscles locked up and refused to move. Danny dropped to the platform, struggling to bring himself up to his hands and knees, the white ring flickering rapidly around his waist while a faint red glow surrounded him. Jazz looked around herself in horror, taking in the sight of her friends and family suffering from whatever it was the spell had done. Had she somehow escaped the effects?

And then she felt her own strength draining quickly, making her feel faint as she stumbled and fell, curling up in a fetal position. Guess not. What was this? Her brain seemed to throb as she tried to analyze what she was feeling and pin down what exactly happened. She needed to know, had to know, before they were all killed because of her own Trial!

_"Root of all creation, grant us the breath of life! Revitalize!"_ Caleb cried in a fury, and a rush of new strength filled Jazz to brimming, her mind now buzzing with restored energy and life. She scrambled back to her feet, head whipping back and forth in search of the teacher. There! He was already darting over to Sam and Tucker, clutching his giant fork in hand. Upon reaching them, he lifted the fork, a circle of magic spiraling at his feet. _"Remove the impurities that plague these souls! Purify!"_ he exclaimed, shimmering light entering the two teens and then fading out.

"Whoa! Hey, that's better than taking any nasty O-T-C medicine!" Tucker exclaimed in pleasant surprise, getting to his feet and stretching his arms. Sam jumped to her feet, punched him once in the shoulder, gave Caleb a quick 'thanks' and then darted back into the fray, dagger out and slashing away at The Ashamed to keep it occupied.

Jazz gave a start, realizing that her brother and Valerie were still suffering and the shadow girl before them was on her way to attacking them while they were weakened. She berated herself softly for not paying attention, then opened fire with the Fenton Peeler. She had already tried to 'peel' the Trial at the beginning of the battle, but it obviously failed and the clearly annoyed expression on Caleb's face told her that she shouldn't try that again on anything in the Book. Ever. That part of the Fenton Peeler's function would never have use on anything magical-oriented in this bizarre dimension.

_"Bar foulest magic from tainting this pure soul!"_ Caleb declared, pointing the prongs of his fork at Danny, who still floundered on the platform, _"Anti-Magic!"_ A faint aura of pink surrounded the ghost boy, who now stood up and looked himself over in surprise, the white ring gone from his waist and leaving him still in phantom form. The android raced by him on his way to Valerie. "Go! Back to battle!" he yelled as he rushed by. With a yelp, the phantom leaped back into the air, chasing after The Ashamed with bursts of the Ghost Ray.

_"Remove the impurities that plague this soul! Recover!"_ Valerie could barely hear the incantation that flushed out whatever was causing her paralysis. Once she was able to move again, she gave a huge sigh of relief and thanked the android, climbing back up to her feet and rubbing her head through her huntress outfit's hood. Caleb only nodded and turned back to face the Trial that now lashed her staff at Danny Phantom in an effort to beat him back to the ground.

"So what the heck was that that just hit us? What did she do?" Valerie questioned, lifting her rifle into a ready position and aiming for The Ashamed, "And how did you escape it?"

"_Retribution_ is a Holy spell, used primarily by angel-class mages, like myself. It inflicts a barrage of status effects like paralysis, which you suffered from; poison, which Sam and Tucker suffered from; weakness, which Danny Phantom was inflicted with; and life drain, which Jazz recovered from with that healing spell I had cast earlier. I wasn't affected because I'm an android." Caleb explained in a rush, "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like for us to start attacking now. Before that thing tries again to kill us."

* * *

The battle didn't seem to be going anywhere. The Ashamed would lambaste the group with spells and status effects, bringing Team Phantom down, and Caleb would counter with a rush of healing and restorative spells to get the teens back on their feet. Jazz huffed tiredly from her position near the android, whose attention was completely focused on casting various spells to enhance the natural strengths of the group. They couldn't keep going like this; eventually, the bunch of them would just tire out and collapse from exhaustion and no amount of spells and potions would get them back up again.

They would be killed by her Trial.

"What can we do? Isn't there **anything** that can stop that thing? Look how much damage we've done to it and it's still going!" she finally screamed in frustration and fury. Caleb finished his spell and sighed, looking over at her with a slight frown.

"What did you expect? It's your Trial. You're the only one who can truly defeat it." he pointed out bluntly, "All we can do is just knock her around until we all drop or you finally get your act together and really face your sin." Jazz stared at him in shock before stammering out a reply.

"M-me? But how am I supposed to take out that thing?" she declared incredulously. Caleb shrugged.

"How should I know? It's **your** Trial." he repeated and went back to his spell-casting, _"Remove the foul magic that has entered these souls! Dispel!"_

So Jazz had to deal the blow that would take the Trial down. How could she do that when it floated high above them all and struck them down with powerful spells like that? She ran back into the fray, watching her younger brother flit about in the air, dodging fireballs and firing a nearly unbroken beam of green-white ectoplasm, the White Quartz on his armbands breaking one after another in little bursts of crystal and light as he burned through their power. Sam and Tucker had fallen back to recover, letting Danny and Valerie keep the Trial busy with attacks. The shadow girl spun elegantly in the air, her staff batting away the phantom when he was too focused on attacking to remember to turn intangible or put up his ecto-shield. Her spells battered them, rained fire and magically created swords and beams of light and who knew what else upon their heads. All they had to keep them going through those waves were Caleb's spells to heal, restore life, cure the poisons and paralysis and negative effects. And because he was tied up in supporting them, he couldn't actually fight as well.

Jazz glared at the dark doppleganger of herself, hating the thing more and more as the battle went on. There had to be some way of bringing it down, some weakness to it, some way to deal damage that The Ashamed couldn't just shake off like she had with all the others.

And then it occurred to her as she took in the sight of the shadowy girl again. She noted once more the exquisite gown, the sparkling jewels adorning her neck, ears, and arms, the golden staff she wielded, all of it glamorous despite being stained with blood and chained to her. This was what The Ashamed looked like, but it wasn't what Jazz thought of herself. She had been ashamed, yes, but she didn't live richly off the money the old widow had provided. But this girl did... so who was the one who truly had shame?

"Hey! You!" Jazz yelled at the Trial, catching its attention as it spun out of yet another attack made by Valerie. Once she was certain it was focused on her, the carrot-top grinned through the clear face-plate. "That's right! I'm talking to you! Um... Shadow... Sinner!" she went on, shaking her index finger at the Trial. Danny's expression was one of shock before quickly shifting to annoyance and embarrassment.

"Jazz!" he shouted in exasperation, throwing his arms up in the air, "I thought we all had it made clear to us! It's called The Ashamed, hell-o-oh?"

"Oh, you call it whatever you want! I'll call it what **I** want!" she shouted back and glared up at the shadow girl, "I wanna talk to you about the meaning of 'shame'!" The Ashamed only narrowed its eyes at her, lifting the staff for another attack and Jazz grinned fiercely. "Ohhh, so you don't wanna talk, huh? You'll do anything to avoid having to face up to what you did, you backstabbing rich brat!" she actually sneered at the Trial.

Team Phantom collectively stared at her in shock and absolute incredulity. What had gotten into her head? Was she trying to call the monster's bluff or something?

But The Ashamed halted dead in its attack, eyes still narrowed but now full of confusion. Jazz let her grin spread further.

"Look at you, so high and mighty. The Princess of the Fenton Family, huh? Decked out in your jewels and designer outfits... that's blood money you're flaunting, y'know?" she went on scathingly, "Oh, you don't even **try** to hide how you got your cash. You're a walking billboard, and you know what it says all over your face?" The Ashamed was shaking now, its grip on the golden scepter so tight it was beginning to bend. The figure was even losing altitude, dropping so slowly out of the air it took Danny a moment to notice what was happening.

_"Silence...!"_ the shadow girl whispered almost desperately, _"Silence! Say not another word!"_

"It says, 'Sugar Daddy Bait'." Jazz purred cruelly, "You've got no shame, no morals. You'll sell out for money like a cheap whore. Do whatever you're told as long as you're draped in Gucci and Armani. Did you sell your soul for that bracelet? It's really tacky. Should have held out a little longer, but you don't even have enough pride left for that." She laughed darkly, "Probably was the first thing you traded in for that self-beater of a scepter."

_"Quiet!"_ The Ashamed shrieked, hands going over its face as it writhed in agony and fury, _"QUIET!"_

"What was the point of you calling **me** shameful for how I lived? For how I coped with what had happened?" Jazz went on angrily, "**You're** the one who should be ashamed! **You** traded in everything that meant anything for money! You empty, hollow _witch_!"

The Trial wailed then, shrieking aloud as it dropped to its knees on the platform, all the jewels and adornments shattering, the scepter bursting into countless little shards that rained down to the glass harmlessly.

"Now, Jazz! It's vulnerable!" Caleb yelled suddenly, pointing the fork at the maddened creature clawing at the air. The carrot-top aimed the Fenton Peeler again, a determined expression on her face as she charged up to fire.

"Now you know..." she growled, "**That** is what it feels like to be ashamed of what you are!" And she fired a burst of light that engulfed that shadow girl and the howl that filled the air lingered only a moment after it vanished, defeated by the strength of Jazz's belief in herself and her friends and family.


	12. Chapter 12

12

The teens huddled together in the Fenton Works den, as the level had reconstructed the building upon the Trial's defeat, each one congratulating Jazz on her win over her Trial. There were many apologies as well, but the carrot-top only smiled and waved them aside.

"It's alright! Really!" she laughed, "I mean, yeah it hurt at first explaining everything and experiencing what happened... but **that's** part of the healing process!" Eyes rolled in good nature as she went on her psychologist rant. "Facing that which instigates the negative thinking patterns in one's lifetime routine is a critical point in overcoming..." Danny reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder with a tired grin.

"Jazz, I think we get that already." he pointed out, interrupting her to the relief of his friends, "It was kinda obvious when we all faced that Trial and you were the one that knocked it out of the park." Sam and Tucker both nodded eagerly as Valerie gave a vague little shrug.

"It was awesome how you kicked that girl's butt and scored one for self-confidence!" the Goth declared and gave a thumb's-up, "No shame in **that**, that's for sure!" The group laughed collectively, enjoying their shared triumph and celebrating Jazz's personal victory.

"So any luck finding the teleporter?" Tucker called out to their teacher, who had been pacing around the room and examining everything once more, finally standing before the grandfather clock that started the whole mess. Caleb glanced their way, then walked over to join them, his expression as neutral as always. Danny gave him a puzzled look. Why did he look like that so much? Wasn't there ever a time when he looked genuinely happy?

"I believe that I've found the location of the teleporter and we will be able to move on at any time." the android reported quietly, sitting in the circle the teens had assembled themselves into in front of the fireplace, "However, after a battle like this, it would be best if we all rested well before moving on. After all," his eyes narrowed slightly, his expression turning grim, "the rules have changed and I won't be able to predict what the next level will be like, nor give insight on anything more than the possible monsters or Trials that lurk beyond." The group fell silent as they looked around themselves at the false Fenton Works, reminded once more that things had changed to cancel the knowledge Caleb could have provided to give them an edge in the journey.

"That sounds like a good idea." Danny agreed, lifting an arm to frown at the healing cuts in his suit and on his skin, "I still have a few scratches to deal with and, um..." He glanced towards Valerie, then his friends, all as furtively as possible, "...the... the humans might be hungry, so..." he finished lamely, hoping his own stomach wouldn't growl at the wrong time. Caleb nodded and stood again.

"Then I'll prepare lunch and tend to any overlooked injuries while you eat." he murmured, "Take some time to rest and relax." He looked in Jazz's direction and actually smiled, "You did very well, Jazz. Defeating that Trial also boosted our Soulfire immensely, so the journey to collect the required amount may not take as long as I initially calculated. If you like, please examine the clock again. You may find something of interest." With that, he headed into the kitchen once more.

"Something of interest? In the clock?" Tucker echoed in confusion, twisting around to look at the antique from over the back of the sofa, "Wonder what he means by that?" Valerie sighed, sitting back in her own seat and folding her arms over her chest.

"We won't know until we find out." she replied in a matter-of-fact tone before giving the carrot-top sitting by her a smirk, "So, **are** you going to find out?" Jazz blinked at her for a moment before sighing and standing up.

"May as well take a look. I mean, Caleb wouldn't suggest looking at it if it was going to trigger another attack or anything, right?" she remarked with a hesitant chuckle, walking up to the clock. She studied it carefully, head tilting to one side as she gazed at its face. After a minute, her eyes widened and her hand flew up to her mouth, a surprised yelp escaping her lips. Danny tensed, giving the clock a wary look and his sister a concerned one.

"Jazz?" he questioned simply, and she shook her head with a smile, letting her hand drop from her mouth.

"The time changed." she replied and laughed softly, tears forming at the corners of her eyes, "How appropriate." The group of teens only stared at her, still baffled, and she smiled at them warmly, broadly. "Four twenty. Danny was born at four twenty in the morning." Sam and Tucker both glanced over at the phantom sitting on the floor near the fireplace, faint smiles on their own faces as they took in the pale blush on his cheeks. Jazz turned back to the clock and blinked, noticing something more to its face. "Huh? What's this?" she murmured, reaching out to open the glass that covered it and poking at the hands of the clock. With a small click, a third hand, slender and appearing to be made of gold, fell into her waiting palm. A soft voice suddenly filled the air, much like when it first appeared to present Jazz with her initial choice about the Trial.

_"Trust in the outcast has been destroyed. What has been forged from the outcast is trust in a comrade. Let the bonds of your shame fall away and guide you to the next hunt."_ it intoned solemnly, then faded away as the teens looked around themselves before grinning in silent agreement. That was true, wasn't it? Jazz felt more like a part of Team Phantom than the meddling but well-intentioned big sister figure she had been beforehand. Danny just about glowed extra brightly with pride, the blush growing deeper on his face as he chuckled softly.

In the meantime, the grandfather clock itself shimmered and vanished slowly, revealing the promised teleporter pad in its place. Jazz blinked down at the pad in surprise, then looked to the item in her hand curiously.

"That is your reward for defeating the Trial." Caleb remarked suddenly, entering the den with a platter of dishes, "Good job uncovering the teleporter, by the way. Well, here we are; curry for everyone, vegetarian style for Sam." He set the platter on the coffee table and gestured for Jazz to join him. Once she was near, he held out a hand to examine the clock hand, lifting it to study after she gave it to him. "It's fool's gold; pyrite." Caleb identified, "Not all that glitters is gold. This is a reminder of the past, of how accepting a gift from a grateful person, no matter their condition and when you had the noblest of intentions for them, should not be something to feel ashamed of." He smiled and gave it back to her. "You should hang on to it, and remember that the woman's gift to you and your brother is part of a timeless chain that enabled you two to help others as well, and those others will turn and help another, continuing on eternally."

Jazz gave the clock hand a new, more appreciative look, smiling as she rubbed her thumb over it before sliding it into her purse. With that, Team Phantom set to eating their lunch in renewed celebration over her victory.

* * *

The group found themselves in the next level after doing a restock and injury check in the past Fenton Works. Water supplies were refilled, showers were taken, and Caleb tended to all the injuries, scanning each teen to record their vital signs as he did so. Food supplies were also added to, and with everyone rested -and having taken a few moments to prepare themselves mentally for what they might be facing- they had stepped onto the pad and moved on.

Well, it helped a _little_.

Danny winced at the sight of rubble and wreckage, his mind flashing back briefly to the ruined future of Amity Park he had seen. This place... it looked a great deal like that reality. A desolate city stretched out before them, the skies dark with rumbling thunderheads and the occasional streak of lightning tore into them, lighting up the dim ruins for brief seconds. Wrecked cars and dead trees littered torn up streets, and the buildings seemed so empty and depressing, battered by age and countless horrors.

"I don't... I don't like this." Danny finally muttered, floating above the rubble as he gave his surroundings a wary glare from the corner of his eyes. He shook his head after a few moments and turned back to the group, "I **really** don't like..." He stopped abruptly, eyes wide and confused by Caleb's reaction to the new landscape.

The teacher was hugging himself, moving close to the teens in an effort to shield himself from the surroundings, glancing about with a wary and disturbed expression. Team Phantom noticed Danny's silence and the direction of his stare, turning to stare at Caleb as the android quickly tried to recompose himself.

"Okay, **now** I'm starting to freak." the half-ghost remarked flatly, folding his arms over his chest, "When the billion-year-old angel 'bot gets the heebie-jeebies, it's time to reconsider our choice of school-related field trips."

"I'm **not** a billion years old." Caleb grumbled, brushing his hair back almost haughtily, "More like a few eons..."

"You don't even **go** to school, Spook." Valerie added under her breath, glaring up at the halfa. Sam reached into her backpack and pulled out a pair of binoculars, peering through them to check out the city.

"It looks like Amity Park, but most of the definitive landmarks are missing. Probably destroyed." she reported calmly, "Could be any city in the world."

"The Book could have been anywhere and make any city this level." Tucker agreed vaguely, rubbing his chin in consideration, "But Nebilim knows that we're from Amity Park, and it's trying to take over the world from Amity Park. If it wants to break down the only hope the world's got to save it, then it would definitely use Amity Park to mess with our heads." He gestured to Jazz absently. "Like it made the past Fenton Works to mess with Jazz."

Danny floated forward, closer to the teacher, as a concerned expression came over his face. _'Was that... fear? Was he scared? Why? What about seeing a ruined Amity Park would make him scared?'_ he wondered to himself. "Caleb, you okay? You looked kinda spooked, if you'll pardon the term." he asked out loud. The android shrugged it off carelessly, waving a hand in dismissal.

"It's nothing. Let's get moving. There might be some torches here we can light to boost the Soulfire some more." he replied quickly and began walking forward, picking his way past the rubble. The teens glanced at one another and began following, the phantom hovering by Sam.

"I don't think he's okay." he whispered to the Goth, watching the teacher for signs of movement that could signal he was listening to their conversation, "Something about this level got to him for a minute there. Any clue what it could be?" Sam sighed harshly, shaking her head.

"You'll have to ask Jazz for that kind of a head case. She's the one studying for things like that, remember?" she pointed out and began to dig into her backpack again, swapping the binoculars for the textbook, "But I'll read ahead in the mythology book and see if there are any clues that might be useful." Danny nodded and darted around the group to float alongside Jazz, murmuring his concerns to her about the android. She gave him a worried look.

"I noticed it as well. I've been trying to analyze his mentality by watching his movements and reactions, but just when I think I've got him figured out, he does something or says something or acts totally out of character for the particular personality type I think he is." Jazz sighed in frustration, "There's just no way of accurately identifying his mental patterns and predicting his actions!"

"The power of perfect neutrality." Danny whispered to himself, mouth tightening into a grim expression, "Even his weak points are shielded with that. I don't get it. I don't get any of this!" He ran a hand through his hair, trying to figure out what Nebilim wanted with him, why the torches lighting kept putting him on fire that didn't burn, and how Caleb was connected with it all since Nebilim kept declaring him the Fallen Angel. The teacher had said it was because he was 'fallen' from time's effects, but some nagging feeling in his gut hinted that there was something more.

* * *

The group traveled a few blocks before Caleb paused, causing everyone else to stop and look to him in confusion. He stood still for a moment, then darted across the street to a large back object that looked as though it had been twisted by the impact of something very large and heavy. Team Phantom raced after him in surprise, blinking when Caleb opened the silver box holding the Soul Stone and shot a bit of its fire into the black object with his ring. A plume of yellow flame burst up from its top like a massive candle.

Danny yelled in alarm, waving his arms and legs around as the pure white flames returned, wrapping around his limbs in brief caresses before fading out again. Tucker had leaped up at him with the blanket in a repeat of before, tackling him to the ground in an attempt to put him out and receiving several annoyed grunts as the phantom struggled to get out, shouting about the fact that the fire was already gone.

"This must be what the new torches are like for this area." Caleb muttered, sparing Danny a glance at the first sound of him shouting about the fire, "We should keep an eye out for these." He knocked on the side of the metal and a panel popped open. Reaching in to grab something from inside, the android studied the object with a practiced eye before turning and tossing it to Tucker, who got to his feet after Danny phased himself free again. "Here. This is an Attack Symbol. It'll increase the strength of your shots." Caleb explained, the boy looking over the little sword-shaped charm before slinging its chain over his head.

"Cool. Is this what they call bling?" the technophile chuckled. Caleb smirked and rolled his eyes before resuming their walk in search of the next teleporter.

They didn't get too far, the thunderheads over the city had decided that it was time to dump their load of rain, and it pounded fiercely upon the teens as they raced to find shelter, running into an empty building to deposit their belongings and start up a campfire. Sam and Valerie set to clearing a space for the fire, Tucker immediately began checking his electronics for damage, Jazz sorted out their rations to see if any had been harmed and decide what would be for dinner.

Danny bent to help his sister when he felt a tap against his arm and looked up to see Caleb motion for him to follow, tapping Valerie as he passed her by and headed back out into the rain.

"What? What's going on?" the huntress asked before he could, raising her arm in a futile attempt to ward off the chill and the rain. Caleb only pointed down the street at a small horde of dark shapes advancing towards them at a quick pace. Danny inhaled sharply, taking to the air as his hands lit up with charging Ghost Rays.

"More monsters!" he exclaimed.

"We've got to defend this place." Caleb agreed, pulling his fork from its strap against his back, "Shouldn't be too many of them, it seems to be a patrol group. This level must be pretty big; several groups of monsters will have been dispatched to patrol portions of it to look for us." He grinned darkly, "We destroy this bunch and this part will be clear for us to use as a base of sorts." Valerie clicked her shoes together, activating the hunter suit that wrapped over her body and equipped her with her favorite guns.

"Then let's mow 'em down!" she declared and shot the phantom a warning glare, "And don't try anything funny, Ghost, or I'll do something painful to you that won't be needing my blaster!"

"Whatever! Here they come!" Danny griped and rushed forward, firing his Ghost Rays. Caleb yelled back into the building.

"Hold this place for us! We're the first wave attack! Anything gets by us, you three take it out before they get to the Soul Stone!" he ordered the other teens, pulling the silver box from his bag and tossing it to Jazz. The carrot-top caught it as Sam threw him a thumb's-up.

"Count on us!" she returned confidently. Caleb nodded and turned back, darting out to join the two ghost hunters already tearing into the horde.

Misshapen wizards chanted in twisted languages as dark spells erupted around the teens and android. Valerie rolled aside from a _Gravity Well_ that bloomed right where she had been, twisting around to fire her rifle on the creature that had tried to crush her in its spell. Though some fell and vanished from the blasts of light that she shot at them, other creatures only shrugged off the attacks and pressed on, not actually casting anything but swinging around broken signposts and pipes.

"What the heck is up with **those** monsters?" the huntress demanded angrily, leaping back from one and using her rifle as a makeshift shield. Caleb mirrored her stance, eyes narrowing as he let one of the strange monsters whale away at the giant fork.

"Hold on. I'm scanning." he growled just before jerking his head back slightly in shock, "They're fake! These monsters are androids!"

"You mean, they're like you?" Danny exclaimed in surprise, floating overhead as he fired multiple bursts of the Ghost Ray in rapid succession, diving down on occasion to slam his feet into a wizard or two when they refused to stay defeated. Caleb shook his head from side to side in a vague shrug.

"Yes and no. Androids similar to me, but more primitive, lacking in the markers for magitechnology." the angelic android returned and lashed the fork aside, shoving away the mechanical skeleton that staggered about foolishly before finally falling under Valerie's assault of throwing discs. Additional creatures lumbered forward to take their place, joints creaking as green light shone from within their bodies. "These are... ectotechnology based androids..."

"Ah, like Skulker!" Danny remarked, lighting up in understanding. _That_ he knew how to deal with. Shooting down, he grabbed the head of one skeleton and yanked on it, pulling it off and flipping it over to peer inside. "Okay, you little creep...!" he began to growl, then blinked when he found only the usual mish-mash of circuit-boards and conduits, sparking at him like any broken piece of technology. "Hey! There's no ghost in here!"

"And there's too many to handle like this!" Valerie declared, holding up another handful of discs to throw, "I'm running out of ammunition and already two of these things have gotten past us!" Caleb glanced at them, then sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I hate doing this." he muttered, shouldering the fork and kicking over the beheaded android Danny left running about. Another sigh and he looked over at the two teens still battling it out with the rest of the mechanical skeletons and griffins. "Danny, Valerie! Head back to base and help your friends with those two robots that got past us!" he ordered sharply, swinging the fork off his shoulder and spinning it in his hands. Both teens snapped their heads around to stare at him in disbelief.

"What about these ones?" Valerie demanded.

"What about **you**?" Danny echoed similarly. The teacher only grinned, the spinning picking up speed as it went on.

"Leave it to me! My wings aren't my only trump card!" he laughed, "Now go on! I can't use it if you're still around; you'll mess up the requirements!" Valerie hopped into the air, clicking her heels to activate her hoverboard. The halfa lingered still, firing several more blasts at the creatures below in indecision.

"Come on, Spook! You heard the man! We got a new target!" Valerie shouted at him, zipping back and forth overhead. Danny opened his mouth to protest but she only cut him off. "He knows what he's doing! He's been at this for like a billion years or something!"

"I'm not a billion!" Caleb snapped up at them absently, "Now will you get going already?" When Danny still lingered, the android sighed harshly. "I'll be at the base soon enough, okay? You have something I've been looking for; I'm not about to die here and now!" he added sharply, "Get **out** of here!" The halfa finally relented, startled by those parting words, then turned quickly to follow the huntress back to the two skeletal robots that were on their way to Sam, Jazz and Tucker.

_'Nebilim said that he set things up so Caleb wouldn't have any advantages anymore. Will he really be okay? And what did he mean by that? I have something he was looking for?'_ he worried to himself, glancing back over his shoulder at the receding figure of the android, still spinning that fork of his over his head. That odd gut feeling from earlier made his stomach twist uncomfortably, but he had to focus on helping his friends first.

* * *

By the time Danny and Valerie reached the other teens fending off the stray skeletons that tried getting into the building, the ground had begun to quake almost violently, the darkened sky in the distance lighting up brilliantly with a dome of white and red light that touched halfway up the abandoned apartments. Danny halted dead in the air, staring wide-eyed at the fading light.

"That's where Caleb was." he murmured in shock.

"Danny! Get your butt down here and _help_!" Sam shouted, kicking at one of the skeletons in a fury. Tucker held a position at the door to the building, pointing his Lens gun at either skeleton that got too near him, firing enough bursts to drive them back to his friends. Jazz had stopped firing her beams of Light once she spotted the creatures were unaffected by the attacks.

"What's **with** these things?" she exclaimed in frustration, "They're Dark mana based, right? Why aren't the modifications working?"

"They're robots! Just break them!" Valerie replied, dropping her hoverboard, and her weight on it, right on top of one of the skeletal androids, crushing it into the broken asphalt. "Like that!" she finished with a triumphant tone in her voice.

The other teens piled onto the remaining skeleton, pinning it to the ground and alternating in kicking, stomping, yanking and punching it to pieces. Tucker, upon hearing they were robots, wailed at the idea of simply destroying the things before he could have the chance to hack into them and see what made them function.

When all was said and done, the group huddled together inside the building, studying the Soulfire that flickered brightly in its box, swelling with flames and energy. They were already tired, feeling fairly battered, and hungry. There was silence for a few minutes before Sam finally asked the question no one else seemed to want to approach.

"Where's Caleb?"

Danny stiffened and winced, glancing aside quickly as he was reminded of the fact that he'd been ordered to abandon the teacher some time ago. He wasn't really one to just follow along with what he was told; he was leader of Team Phantom for more than just that, right? But the conviction Caleb had when telling him to leave, that confident grin and even the annoyed snap over his age, all of that had made him believe that the android had everything under control. Add on the fact that his friends would soon be fighting something that they weren't fully equipped to deal with and the choice quickly became clear to him; his friends and family over the android.

The idea he chose the many over one made him feel ill, especially since he still had no idea what Caleb meant by his parting words.

"He stayed behind to deal with the horde." Valerie returned bluntly, once she saw that Danny wasn't going to volunteer any information, too busy with staring at a far wall and fiddling with his fingers, "Told us to come back here and give you some added support against those fake monsters. Why worry? He's an android, right? If he breaks, just have Tucker fix him."

"You insensitive, ignorant jerk! You left our only way out of here out there to _die_? Caleb's not 'just an android'! He's actually a _living_ being and...!" Sam snapped at her, wincing as Danny cringed at her words, shoulders hunching guiltily, "I mean... well...! Not die as in 'The End' kind of dying, y'know?" She waved a hand uselessly as she tried to find a way to amend her words so she could still vent at Valerie without possibly turning Danny Phantom into a puddle of angst-filled goo.

She failed after a minute of voiceless mouthing and dropped her head into her hands, tuning out Jazz's digging into their supply packs for sandwich fixings and the sound of thunder clapping overhead, rain continuing to pound down on their meager base and the wreckage of Amity Park outside. They ate in silence, a plate of sandwiches set before the ghost boy, who barely ate as he turned events over in his own mind, wondering where things had gone wrong, what more he could have done to ensure that the whole group would be safe. Jazz glanced over at him worriedly, reaching out now and then to pat his shoulder in comfort, only to sigh at the mild shaking of his head as he rejected even that in favor of focusing on his internal swirl of guilt beating down on his hope that the teacher was still in one piece. He wanted to put his bets on Caleb still being okay, but the general mood of the situation seemed to be in charge of the jackpot.

"Should we press on? Do we wait for him?" Tucker questioned after another few minutes, watching Sam close the Soul Stone's box and pack it away.

"It's been almost an hour. If he was coming back, he should have been here by now." Valerie murmured and rose to her feet, picking up her bag, "I say we keep going. We still have to rescue the people that were kidnapped and light up that altar to burn this place to bits."

"But... Caleb had the pin that was supposed to be our escape." Jazz pointed out in concern, "Without that, how are we to get out of the Book with everyone before it burns up?" The teens began standing up, collecting their belongings and cleaning up. She looked around at them in dismay. "But... it's still raining! We can't travel in rain! We could get sick!" she tried to stall them, jumping to her feet, "You're carrying metal! What if lightning struck? We should stay here, at least until the rain stops!"

Danny rose from his spot on the floor, floating in silence as he pulled on his own pack along with Caleb's and began drifting towards the door.

"Danny!" Jazz cried his name in disbelief, "You're just gonna go, like that? What about Caleb?" He paused as the rest of the teens began heading out into the rain, arms held up to ward off some of the weather.

"He said he would be back, but he hasn't come yet. Something must have happened." the phantom returned firmly. He shook his head, squared his shoulders, and took a deep breath that sounded only the slightest bit shaky. "We're going to keep moving, but I want to follow his path. There's gotta be a clue or something that can tell us what went down." he added, turning back to give his sister a steady look, "There's still a lot of Soulfire, right? Then we have time to search for him. Come on. He's waiting for us, and probably annoyed that we took too long." Jazz sighed, grabbing her own pack and hurrying after her brother.

"At least you're being optimistic." she muttered under her breath, wincing at the cold as she and Danny headed out into the rain, "Just wish you could be that way when the weather was drier..."

* * *

The group pressed on through the rain, hurrying along as fast as they could move in the bad weather and the wrecked streets. The patrol group that had been taken out was indeed for the area they traveled through. Beyond the occasional little runt monster and water-logged bat that was quickly dealt with to feed the Soul Stone, nothing major interfered with their journey. They did, however, stop where the initial battle had been, just to look things over.

There wasn't much left of anything, just odd shadows burned into the surroundings and smoldering rubble in a large crater. Danny flitted around, searching the area for signs of the teacher, promising to let the shock of what he was seeing hit him full on later and leaving that luxury to his friends. They gathered at the edge of the crater, looking in with wide eyes and mouths hanging open.

"What the heck did he **do**?" Sam blurted out and grabbed for her textbook, hurrying under an overhang to flip through its pages. Jazz poked at the rubble and looked vaguely unsettled.

"Why do I get the feeling that this was like a bomb going off?" she muttered and turned to see her brother fly towards her from the other edge of the crater, "Danny? Find anything?"

"He's alive!" the phantom blurted, thrusting out a fist and opening it to reveal several strands of red hair, "See? I found these a little bit away from here." Valerie scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"That doesn't prove anything. He could have been blown to bits and those are the leftovers you found." she groused. Danny shook his head furiously.

"No way. When we left him, he was standing with his back to us. We went back that way." he reasoned, pointing down the way they had come, "This blast must have come from him, right? Well if it blew him away, then any remains of him should have been thrown back that way." Again he gestured towards the path they just came from, "But I didn't see anything of him there." He turned and pointed ahead, to the other side of the crater. "But there are signs of him all the way over there. That means he moved from here to there." he went on and took on a grim expression. "We're going that way. I want to take a better look at that part of the street and I can't if you're all here and worrying me."

The group glanced at one another, puzzled by the phantom's words. In the end, they gave vague agreement to follow him, shutting up Valerie's vocal protest by jabbing her in the ribs with an elbow. Sam had tucked her book away and rejoined them, a scowl on her face as she trudged alongside Danny and Tucker in their search for a new path through the alleys. The barriers of rubble weren't helping them in keeping track of where the spot was that Danny wanted to check out, so the halfa would fly up at odd times to relocate it from the air.

"So, what did you find out?" Tucker asked of the Goth as Danny took off again to regain their bearings. Sam growled, folding her arms tighter over her body, painted fingernails digging into her skin.

"I tried looking for Caleb's specifications in the chapters, anything about his origins, spells, specialties. All I got were reference codes to other books." she grumbled, "He did a really good job of covering his tracks, even if he let his own picture get printed in the book." She gave him a sidelong glare. "Think you can get access to those other books on your PDA?" she questioned. Tucker reached into his pocket and dug out one of the many devices he carried around, tapping away at the keys.

"Be glad this one is waterproof." he muttered under his breath as he went on tapping.

Silence resumed and the teens marched on, ducking behind rubble once they spotted new monsters walking the streets in their patrols. The safe haven that was created at the price of the teacher was long gone now, and Danny felt a slight twinge of guilt again, feeling as though they had wasted that safe point. But there was nothing more they could do, and he wanted to find Caleb as soon as possible so that they could move on together. He was their way through, their major source of information when anything magical came against them. Without him, things were going to be more of a culture shock to them, with precious moments being squandered to cope with the changes.

They finally managed to reach the street just beyond the crater, tired from the detours they had needed to take to get there. Danny seemed to get his second wind and busily flew around the place, stopping at random points to peer at bits of rubble, indentations in the buildings, smoldering piles of something or another scattered over the ground. After a minute or so, he revisited his own trail again, this time moving slower and 'stepping' in mid-air, placing his feet down as though matching them to steps painted below him.

"What are you doing?" Sam finally groused aloud, fed up with being in the rain with little to no protection from the elements, "Danny!"

"There are a lot of footsteps here. Weird, wouldn't the rain have washed them away?" he returned, turning slowly to follow another series of steps, "He must have moved this way, then this... and then... Hey, his ribbon!" Danny reached down and snatched up the tattered length of green fabric, shooting back to his friends to show it off. "I knew something happened! This is his ribbon; y'know, the one he uses to tie his hair back? He was here, something happened, and now he's not here."

"Your fault." Valerie chimed in before anyone could cut her off. Sam rolled her eyes and glared at the ribbon.

"Brilliant deductive reasoning, Danny. 'He was here, something happened, and now he's not here.'" she grumbled, "So then, Mr. Holmes,** where** is he now?" Danny looked around himself, then turned to his sister.

"Jazz, doesn't this street head towards the city plaza?" he asked. Jazz blinked, looked around herself more attentively, then nodded slowly. "Then that's probably where Caleb was taken." He gestured back at the rubble. "There are more footprints there that don't match up; Caleb wasn't alone here, so someone or something else grabbed him somehow and took off with him to the plaza."

With a new goal in mind, the group of teens continued their journey, a little more hopeful than before, but still just as tired. Tucker's only complaint, when he bothered to look up from his PDA, was that he was already missing the meals Caleb whipped up whenever they made camp. Once the others began agreeing with him on the need for food and a place to sit that was dry and warm, Danny turned to looking for a place to house themselves in for a short time.

"Okay, I'm in the Archives online section. What's one of the reference codes?" Tucker suddenly asked while the group took cover in an old store to rest, eat and check on the Soulfire. The silver flames had dwindled in size from the travel and without the Sorcerer's Ring the teens couldn't light the torches to add more fire. Danny and Valerie left after a quick snack to try gathering fire by pounding on some of the wandering monsters.

"Huh?" Jazz put in, looking between the two teens left with her as she worked on her own studies, "You're online? _Here?_ In the **Book**?" Sam opened her textbook, flipping through pages again as Tucker shrugged noncommittally at the carrot-top.

"Reference Caleb the automated doll, code 23, from _The Historical Significance of the Wonder Organization_." she finally rattled off and went back to another chapter, "There was a period of unrest after Symphonia was formed that threw off a lot of events for Caleb here. For a couple of years, he was left alone and had to piece together a historical account based on stories and rumors told to him by his friends and various people he came across."

"Oh? You mean the Ratatosk Calamity?" Jazz remarked, flipping through the pages, "I read about that. There was a reference code attached to one of the chapters as well. Do you think it'll help?"

"Wait till I get done with this one." Tucker muttered, his PDA beeping at him, "Sam's code brings up a dossier on Caleb, but nothing on his big name spells. Just little ones that look basic; _Fireball_, and stuff." He looked over at Jazz. "What's your code?" Jazz studied the pages closely before reading aloud.

"Reference Caleb's research, code 5, from _The Theory of Mana Transfer and Substitution_." she returned and looked up expectantly as Tucker punched in the new code and looked over the incoming results.

"If that doesn't get us anything..." Sam began, trailing off when Danny and Valerie returned from the rainy field, carrying a small basket of items.

"Honey, we're home!" Danny laughed, floating over to Sam and depositing the basket at her feet. Though he sounded upbeat, the Goth knew somehow that he was still hurt by the loss of their mythology teacher. She raised an eyebrow at his comment before picking up the basket and looking through the items.

"Let's see. Some bottles of whatever, looks like potions of some kind; some little bits of metal and ore; herbs... What kind of monster carries around rosemary leaves?" she pointed out incredulously. Danny shrugged, poking at the various little charms that were in the mix.

"How's the Soulfire?" Valerie huffed, wiping a film of sweat from her forehead as she took a spot by the campfire. Sam glanced her way, then opened the box to take a peek.

"Not bad. It's a bit bigger than before you guys left." she remarked and closed the lid, "Still would be easier to do if we had the Ring back." Tucker's PDA beeped again and the techno-geek began reading aloud.

"...similar mana signatures... channel the soul of one being into another... Sorry, Jazz, this doesn't seem to work for us." he reported with a shake of his head, "It's just his theory on reincarnation or something." He pulled his hat off to scratch his head. "Nothing on his spells."

"Try reference Caleb's artifacts, code 16, _The Historical Significance of the Wonder Organization_." Sam blurted out, looking over her book again. Danny and Valerie looked confused.

"What are you doing?" the phantom asked.

"Figuring out what he did that blew a chunk of Amity Park to kingdom come." Tucker replied shortly, tapping at his PDA again. It beeped fairly quickly and he peered at the screen. "It brings up his fork right off the bat. Wonder Fork... contains ingrained spell utilized only when certain requirements are met... causes destruction on a massive scale in a local area similar to a very small nuclear explosion..." He paused, eyebrows lifted. "Sounds like that's our bomb." he remarked. Danny snapped his fingers.

"That's gotta be it! Just before he ran us off, Caleb said that he had a trump card that he couldn't use with us around because we threw off the requirements!" he exclaimed, "Does it say what it is? Would it have hurt Caleb too?" Tucker read the entry over again, shaking his head.

"It's called _Incineration_, and no, it's not supposed to do anything to the spell-caster. All attack spells cast by a person don't harm that same person, nor do they harm members of that person's group." he explained, "That's why some of the spells Caleb cast didn't hurt us, even if we didn't have a chance to get out of the way."

"Then why did his spell blast me back when we met at the library?" Danny mused aloud, blinking at Sam's harsh sigh.

"Because at that time, Caleb didn't consider you a 'group member'. He was operating solo." she griped and looked up at her friend with narrowed eyes, "So to him, at that moment, you were just as much an enemy as whatever it was he was aiming at." The half-ghost stared back at her in alarm, finally swallowing hard at the idea.

Caleb had considered him an enemy? Then... why the change to being protective of him? Was it because he was Amity Park's Hero? Or...?

_"You have something I've been looking for..."_

"So... does this mean his spell **didn't** blow him to pieces?" Valerie asked, bringing Danny back to reality with a little shudder.

"In a nutshell, yeah." Tucker agreed, slipping the device away, "He's still in one piece, like Danny said. He just didn't come back to base; probably because of whatever Danny figured out happened on the other side of the crater."

The rain showed no sign of letting up as the teens pondered over that mystery. The teacher had been perfectly fine, if that spell of his really did wipe out all the creatures in that horde. Then something else, many something elses, came in and confronted him. Why hadn't he hit them with the same spell, and what happened to Caleb himself if he failed to deal with them?

A strange roaring began to build outside, catching the attentions of the young heroes as the noise began to clear up and sound more like chanting. Sam's eyebrows furrowed together and she reached out to place a hand on Danny's back. In some unspoken way, some silent transfer of mental message, Danny understood what she was saying, and drifted forward, turning invisible as he phased through the front wall of the store to investigate.

* * *

A large mass of monsters, wizards, creatures and robots were marching down the streets, thrusting rubble and broken signposts and whatever was at hand into the air, sounding like a parade as they chanted in hollow, deep, dark voices.

_"Ma-ster! Ma-ster! Ma-ster!"_ the horde roared, oblivious to the ghost boy flying over them and following the masses.

There were some people scattered amongst the creatures, wild-eyed and almost mindless with fear and adoration, mirroring the horde by pumping their own fists into the air. They chanted alongside the monsters, staggering along in tattered clothing.

Danny thought he recognized some of the people, various students, some adults in the anti-DP group, even a pair of girls from the Phantom Phangirls Club that took up a portion of the park for their weekly club meetings. Where were they going? What was going on?

He wished he had remembered to put on a pair of Fenton Phones before heading out in the rain.

The chanting horde pushed on through the wreckage and the rubble, chanting still, turning at the end of the street towards a large, open plaza just before the City Hall building where the mayor's office was located. Danny flew along swiftly, entering the plaza and stopping abruptly as he looked at what the thousands of monsters and people were gathering around.

A towering column of twisted metal pierced the sky, standing roughly a hundred and fifty feet in the air. It was adorned with wicked spikes, looking like some metallurgist's nightmare vision of a rose vine spiraling out of the ground. At its peak was Caleb, arms supported by twists of metal binding him to the spire.

Danny uttered a little gasp of shock and rushed up to take a closer look at the teacher, careful to remain unseen to the masses gathering below. Caleb looked relatively unharmed, battered a bit considering the markings on his face and his hair being mussed and loose, but he also seemed to be unconscious. The giant fork remained strapped to his back, which was a bit of a relief on Danny's part, as he didn't want to have to go hunting for that thing later as well. The ghost boy reached out, poking at his shoulder first, then shaking him slightly.

"Caleb! Wake up!" he urged softly. No response. Danny bit his lip, hovering back a bit as he scratched his head in confusion. Caleb was an android, so he had to have some kind of 'on' switch or something, right? Maybe there was something special that he needed to do to get him to wake up? He raked through his memories, thinking hard as to what could be used to wake up the teacher.

Then one scene popped up in his mind, sharp and baffling. Back when he was still uncertain as to Caleb's true identity, Danny remembered that instance of the class calling out to their daydreaming teacher, and Caleb had snapped to attention instantly. What was it they said? Maybe that was some kind of special code; Caleb himself said that he had an automatic response to it that he never got over.

"Up and at 'em, Caleb?" Danny began listing off desperately, "Hello, Caleb? Welcome back, Caleb?"

The android simply hung there, looking so much like a dead man that Danny was beginning to panic, flitting back and forth in ghostly pacing, trying to keep his eyes focused on anything but the captive teacher.

"Nice day, Caleb? Let's go, Caleb? Wakey wakey, Caleb?" the ghost boy kept rattling off, "Geez, what did we say that day?" He paused, the proverbial light going off in his head. "Oh, c'mon, it **can't** be that simple!" he exclaimed in exasperation and turned to face the android, "Good afternoon, Caleb!"

Immediately, Caleb lifted his head, eyes quickly opening and lighting up, staring straight ahead.

"Welcome. Please state your business." he stated in monotone before blinking in surprise and looking around himself, "What in Martel's name...?" Danny breathed a sigh of relief, nearly dropping out of the air before catching himself and floating in place. Caleb blinked again, then turned his head sharply to peer at his invisible form. "Danny? What are you doing here?" he questioned.

"Trying to rescue you? Duh." the halfa retorted and gestured towards the twisted metal holding the android in place, "What happened here? How did you wind up like this?" Caleb sighed almost dismally and hung his head again.

"Would you believe I met a few familiar faces and lost horrendously against them?" he muttered. He managed a slight shrug and lifted his head with a somewhat annoyed expression. "What I would like to know is why some of my own creations are here in the Book, and why they've turned against me. After clearing out the horde, I began to make my way back to the base. That's when I found myself surrounded by some old Heroes I knew. Once I realized they were against me, I fought back and... well, you can see what happened." Caleb griped and began a more genuine struggle to get free, "I'm not sure when they got me on this stupid thing, but it must have been while I was offline. Can you figure out what's going on, what they're planning to do to me?"

"Alright. Lemme see what's up." Danny sighed and dove down to mingle among the crowds. Avoiding the monsters was no easy feat, and an attempt to overshadow one of the humans failed horribly, though Danny couldn't see right away why that happened. He flitted about, searching for some clue, some hint, that someone knew what the ruckus was all about. Either everyone already knew what was happening and were just waiting for it to happen, or they were just confused on when Christmas started and mistook Caleb for the Christmas angel that went on the top of their twisted 'tree'.

He crossed his fingers for 'Christmas angel' and headed back up to the android to let him know he was just as clueless as the redhead was.

Caleb didn't seem that amused by the situation, and only scowled deeper at Danny's nervous laughter. In the end, the phantom decided to float down and stay close to the base of the spire, hoping to stave off whatever events were about to happen. Going back to the abandoned store to collect his friends for help would leave too large of a window open for something to happen to Caleb and Danny would be unable to do anything to stop or stall it.

After a minute, a figure stepped out from City Hall and fluttered with wispy green wings towards the base of the twisted vine of metal. Danny floated back away from the figure, looking it over in an attempt to recognize it. Uncertain of the newcomer's identity, he flew up to talk to Caleb.

"Eve Voraci, twin sister to Wren. I built her using a similar model to Adam." the android replied flatly, though Danny could just about make out an annoyed tone hidden in his voice, "She was one of the androids that ambushed me."

"Servants to the Master, hear my words!" Eve declared from her place below them, holding her arms out to the masses of monsters, robots and people, "We have captured one of the enemies of the Master and will commence with the execution!"

"Oh, I'm not liking the sound of that." Danny groaned softly.

"**You** don't like it? **I'm** the one strapped to this thing!" Caleb hissed, trying to wrench one arm free of the twirl of metal that held it in position. The blonde girl standing at the base turned her face upward, smiling at him with a cruelty that looked disturbing on her pretty features.

"_Arrivederci_, Caleb. This world belongs to the Master now." she purred and turned to flutter over to a large generator, a lever positioned just before it.

"What's with the ghostly wings?" Danny wondered aloud just before diving down again to stop the activation of the machine. Caleb huffed and shook his head, annoyed at being unable to answer the question due to the boy taking off so suddenly.

Eve hit the lever just as Danny dropped his invisibility to fire a full-powered Ghost Ray. The crowd roared out at the sight of the phantom floating there, the generator kicked on, and Caleb shrieked at the flood of electricity racing up the twisted vine, lighting it up and dancing over him. The blonde snapped off the lever and flew up to join Danny, gripping her new weapon with a grin.

"Another of the former Master's little pets, huh? Was he saving you for another of his little dreams, or maybe you're just in the wrong place at the wrong time?" she crooned, flapping her ghostly wings.

"Are you my Trial?" Danny snapped, rushing forward with a flurry of punches. The girl dodged them, still smiling.

"Oh, no, no, no, dearie. I'm just the one carrying out the execution under the Master's order." she purred, then spun in mid-air, using the centrifugal force to put more power behind the strike of the lever, sending Danny crashing into the street, the masses parting swiftly to avoid being hit by him. He recovered quickly, phasing through the asphalt to dodge a knee dive from the angelic blonde, then reappearing beside the generator.

Ghost Rays weren't doing the trick against the thing and when he tried to freeze it with an Ice Ray, the machine gave off a strange ripple effect that deflected the cold. It seemed oddly protected against his powers, and there wasn't much time to try another tactic, as Eve was after him again, swinging the lever around like a rapier, laughing gaily at him. Danny phased again, only to find himself getting knocked for a loop when Eve swung her arm aside and slammed him squarely in the chest.

Overhead, the electricity continued pouring into the android, Caleb having gone silent in favor of locking up and desperately trying to use the fork on his back to channel the current out and away from him. If he'd been electrocuted in his early years of existence, the Tri-Crystal System would have shattered, leaving him without power and vulnerable to destruction. The shields he had now would hold a little longer, but his equivalent to pain was growing by the second with various connections burning out one after another.

"Oh, what's the matter, sweetie?" Eve purred, lifting Danny's chin with a fingertip as he slumped against a nearby half-statue, battered from the skirmish between him and the strange angel that could deal with his ghost powers. The rain soaked him, weighing him down and threatening to drown him where he sat. "I thought a pet of Caleb's would have a little more, how you say, 'pep'?"

"H-how are you d-doing that? You c-can get through... my ghost powers..." the halfa managed to cough out, pushing against the marble to get to his feet again, "And your wings... they're... not like Caleb's..." Eve chuckled softly, prodding at the teen's chest with her lever, tapping right on the insignia he wore.

"Because I'm not like him. Not anymore." she replied sweetly, leaning close to the boy, "I've been adjusted to use a new power source, a source that will last and last, growing ever more powerful as the years fly by." Danny swallowed hard, then shivered, a wisp of pale blue flowing from his mouth catching him, and Eve, by surprise. She blinked at it. "What is this? Bad breath?" she questioned warily.

"No. Ghost sense." Danny returned, a smile forming on his face, "I get it. You're ecto-based; you're getting power from ectoplasm." The smile turned more cocky, smug, as he clenched his hands into fists. "Which means that the stuff inside you channels ghost powers!" And before Eve could connect the implications together, Danny phased into her body, overshadowing the android.

"Whoa." he muttered, lifting the android's hands to look them over. The roar of dissatisfaction from the hordes snapped him back to attention and he flew up out of their reach, turning to look back at the spire holding Caleb bound, "Right! That thing!" He shot forward, punching into the generator with newfound android strength ripping into the metal with impunity.

The flow of electricity halted and Caleb remained frozen in place. Danny sighed harshly and rose back up to his level. Once more, he spoke the phrase 'Good afternoon, Caleb!' and the android sluggishly returned with his own code phrase, relaxing his limbs as best he could before lifting his head to blink at the overshadowed android.

"Danny?" he slurred brokenly, "What... are you... doing... in that?"

"Struggling." the phantom returned in a strained voice, "She's fighting to get control back. How do I shut her off?"

"Tri-Crystal... System. In the center... of her chest. Destroy it." Caleb muttered curtly. Danny flew back from the android, focusing on the inner workings of the girl he was overshadowing. He couldn't find a way of cutting off power; she was getting it from outside of herself. The Tri-Whatever Caleb spoke of wasn't there, just some little chamber that seemed to be receiving ectoplasm. By the time he lost control of Eve, Danny had decided the easiest way to deal with this problem was to grab onto that chamber and phase it out with him when he was ejected from the android.

Eve gave him a vicious glare a split second before her power completely evaporated and she dropped like a rock, smashing into the street. Danny fired a double blast of the Ice Ray down at her to keep her detained, just in case, before heading back to the teacher.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked Caleb, who gave him a mild glare in return.

"I've got... mild to serious... damages to my... systems..." he grumbled, "Get my arm out." The halfa touched the twisted metal, turning it intangible so the android could fall free of it. Quick flips of metal on metal and Caleb's wings burst into life, vibrant red and somewhat unstable, slowing his descent to the angry masses below. Startled, Danny quickly grabbed onto the back of Caleb's coat, utilizing a great amount of his ghostly strength to keep the android supported and halting his fall. Caleb's hand clapped to the pin on his lapel and he muttered a few words before a soft white glow suffused him and the wings steadied, their power growing stable again. Once they were flapping and holding him aloft, Danny released his jacket and floated by him, a worried look on his face. "I said, an **arm**!" Caleb growled at him, "I needed repairs from the Pin first, to get my systems fully operational!"

"Geez, sorry for saving your life then!" Danny retorted and gestured towards the mess of monsters now chanting out spells, "So what about them?" Caleb pointed at a group of 'angels' flying out of the roof of City Hall, ghostly wings lighting up the stormy night.

"I'm more worried about what **they're** gonna do to us." he added and sighed, "I'm for strategic retreat. You?"

"Running is good. Heroes do it too! The book said so!" Danny agreed in a rush, turning invisible and racing off back to the abandoned store. Caleb sighed in dismay, shrugging and shaking his head before murmuring another wish on his pin for invisibility and following the halfa.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: The Revengineer is a plot device created by my husband, WarSong, when I couldn't figure out how to make Tucker's Trial come to life. It was originally an idea to make fun of idiotic villains, but it came out rather nicely here. He also came up with his initial title cries, and I still roll my eyes to hear them in my head. It'll take some time before the Revengineer actually turns over to be the Trial. You'll see why fairly soon.

* * *

13

The reunion was one that was mixed; Valerie seemed happy enough to see Caleb back, but she only gave Danny a glare at both running off -seemingly for no reason- and then coming back. The rest of the group was genuinely happy to see both back and in relatively good health. Sam was just glad to hand the Soul Stone box back to him; having it on her person had made her feel a bit nervous. Something about it, the torches being lit, and Danny's spontaneous white flames just didn't sit right with her, but she didn't have enough information to figure out what it could be. Still, it wasn't long until the teacher was pelted with questions as to what had happened to him.

"You sure you want to know? It's kind of... convoluted." Caleb remarked with a tone that sounded oddly sheepish, scratching at his cheek with a fingertip.

"You owe us that much for freaking Danny out and making him gung-ho on dragging us around in the rain, looking for you." Sam pointed out dryly. The phantom nodded emphatically, holding the ribbon hostage between his fingers. Caleb spotted it, automatically reached back to check his hair, then scowled in frustration.

"Oh fine." he muttered and took up a spot by the campfire to recount what had happened to him in the length of time Team Phantom was dealing with the errant skeletal robots.

* * *

Just after Danny and Valerie's escape~

_"Eternal Mother, unleash thy fury of fire!"_ Caleb called out, spinning the fork overhead. He brought it down suddenly, slamming it into the earth as it flashed a brilliant white, _"Incineration!"_

A dome of light and fire burst from the Wonder Fork, spreading out rapidly and consuming everything it touched in destructive flames, burning shadows of its victims into the rubble. The street cracked and caved, dropping Caleb into the pit while the spell ran its course, lighting up the area as the horde of monsters and robots vanished. It didn't take long for it to finally dissipate, leaving him alone in the crater of his own making.

Caleb dusted off the Wonder Fork and slid it back into its strap, pulling his wings out to fly to the street and land carefully. He looked around himself to be sure nothing survived the range of the attack, smirked to himself at the cleared out area, then began to head back down the street to rejoin Team Phantom.

"And where do you think you're going?" a voice called out questioningly. Caleb froze in mid-step, blinking in shock before turning to stare at a trio of Heroes walking out of a nearby alley.

"Lloyd?" Caleb murmured in surprise, "Sheena, Presea? What are you doing here? I didn't summon any of you to Amity Park; how did you get into the Book?" The three Heroes of Union only grinned collectively, the expressions sinister on their faces.

"You should be asking yourself, how are **you** going to get out?" another voice purred with a fairly pronounced Italian accent, and Caleb turned to see a girl in long blonde hair dressed in white cook's clothes step in from another alley, flanked by Yuan and Barta.

"Eve?" he questioned, then blinked as her words registered, "Wait. What do you mean by me getting out of here? Are you...?" He fell silent, narrowing his eyes as he sent out an inaudible signal, a silent command to the six androids surrounding him for them to stand down and explain exactly what was going on. Eve's smile grew wider.

"That isn't going to work, Caleb. We're not your slaves anymore." she cooed, pulling her rapier from her waist. Weapons were drawn all around the redhead, and he looked around himself in shock at seeing Lloyd's twin swords, Presea's axe, Sheena's cards, Yuan and Barta's own weapons, all of them being drawn and pointed at him.

"We have a new Master now. He's given us power that doesn't rely on your flimsy Tri-Crystal and Dual Crystal systems." Presea intoned coldly, "Your appearance here is a threat to our existence and to the rule of the Master."

"Which means only one thing." Sheena added with a smirk, flipping her cards into the air so one hovered before her and she took up her signature casting stance, "You're going down, Fallen Angel. And you're not getting back up."

Caleb didn't answer to that challenge, just immediately took to the air and headed for the other side of the crater. If they were going to have a battle, it would be best to do it away from Team Phantom. No point in accidentally leading them to the teens. The other androids followed suit, unfolding wings of wispy green light that carried them through the air, Sheena following after finishing her spell.

_"Tethe Seal! Darkness!"_ she cried, and a cloud of black surrounded each of the turned androids, seeping into their weapons. Caleb touched down on the other side of the crater, whirling around and lifting the fork as a circle of light bloomed beneath him.

_"Infinite powers, grant me thy strength!"_ he chanted and pointed the prongs at the flock of androids flying right for him, _"Meteor Storm!"_ The sky darkened further and huge spheres of fire and rock rained down on the group, smashing into the earth as they dodged the attack and landed near Caleb as he slid the fork back into its strap, darting into attacks the moment they touched ground.

Yuan was first to strike, slamming his dual-blade into the redhead and sending him crashing into a building, right in range of Presea, who was already gearing up one of her own special attacks. Caleb rolled forward, tumbling across the ground while the pink-haired girl twirled by, her _Punishment_ attack missing him by a narrow margin.

_"Rising Falcon!"_ Lloyd yelled, diving at the angelic android from a sharp angle. Another roll and Caleb dodged that, scrambling to get to his feet and crying out as Barta stepped in and slammed his own broadsword into the earth nearby him, sending shafts of stone rising up to pound into the slimmer android, the effect of a _Grave_ spell. "Take out his energy systems! If he takes too much personal damage, you'll only activate the Over-Limit System!" the brunet barked out in warning. Sheena flipped in and threw out another of her cards, calling out for her _Force Seal_ to shove Caleb aside and blowing him across the street. He recovered from that with a series of back flips of his own, quickly taking stock of the field to regain his bearings and pick a target, preferably the apparent leader of the ambush.

"You're not ending me here!" Caleb snapped in fury, dashing forward and leaping at Eve, abruptly shifting his position and dropping down on her full force, _"Eagle Rage!"_ The blonde twisted away from the impact, shouting as she flailed her limbs wildly. Lloyd rushed in to take her place, spinning ribbons of mana around himself to draw Caleb in and then lashing out with a _Beast_ attack that sent him staggering in pain. Dark mana, Sheena had coated their weapons in the Element that Caleb was weakest again, his 'soul' inherently Light in nature. Blows that made contact with him did more damage than normal, and his internal fueling system was protesting the intrusion of incompatible mana.

The stagger cost him badly, as Presea took advantage of his daze and landed a particularly damaging _Finality Punishment_ on him, her axe bashing into him and sending him sprawling onto the ground. Caleb struggled to get up, absently noting the fact that his hair was as much a mess as he was, which meant his ribbon had been lost sometime ago in the one-sided battle. He winced; that ribbon was of great value to him, and he'd hate to see it go missing.

A foot shoved him back down, pinning him to the earth as Eve glided over to him in soft chuckles, thunder rumbling overhead making her approach all the more ominous. He turned his head, glaring up at her while she bent to smile at him sweetly, unconcerned with the rain now beginning to beat down on them.

"Told you we were more powerful now." she purred, "The Master will be pleased to know we have you." Caleb managed a snarl of contempt before something struck his head, interrupting his flow of mana, and darkness of another kind overtook him.

* * *

"They **were** going to execute me under the order of someone they called the Master, but Danny was able to get me out of the situation." Caleb finished almost crabbily, arms folded over his chest in irritation. The teens blinked at him in unison, astonished by the tale he told.

"Why didn't you just use _Incineration_ again to get rid of them?" Sam asked suspiciously, "Considering how powerful that spell is, I would think you'd use it most often." The android seemed to twitch slightly, then shook his head.

"There are some **very** strict rules that confine how often I can use that spell." he returned sternly, "One of which is that it's not exactly _mine_, so I can't just go around blasting everything with it. That spell was meant for one purpose; the protection of the rightful wielder of the Wonder Fork. And no matter how much mastery it looks like I have over it, it doesn't belong to me." He paused then, eyes glancing over in Danny's direction for the briefest of moments. "I'm just safeguarding it until the true heir returns for it." he finished and held out his hand, "**Now** may I have my ribbon back?"

"So, there are more androids like you in here? I thought the Underworld King would destroy anything you created." Jazz questioned, confused by the change in Nebilim's actions towards Caleb's creations. Danny handed over the ribbon, watching Caleb take it back with an expression of relief -the first non-neutral face Danny had seen him make all day- and tie his hair back in a semblance of the ponytail he originally had before the phantom realized what she had just asked and shook his head at his sister's words.

"No, I think I get what's going on here. This must be part of another of those Trials; I couldn't overshadow the people that were here, but I **could** overshadow Eve, the android that tried to destroy Caleb in the city plaza." he pointed out and held up the strange power chamber he had pulled from Eve, an odd green flame flickering within the cage of metal and crystal, "The ones that turned against Caleb were using this to gain energy from ectoplasm. They were using ectotechnology, which let me take one over. The people were fake, made of magic, so I couldn't do anything to them."

"But what makes you think it's a Trial? We haven't activated one yet." Sam questioned, arms folding over her chest and Danny pointed at the spherical chamber.

"There's this weird marking on the chamber I pulled out of Eve that doesn't belong on anything ecto-based. And it doesn't look like any ghostly language I've ever come across." he replied and yelped as Caleb plucked the object out of his hands for closer inspection.

"Let me see that." he muttered and peered at the etchings in the metal, "Hm. This is the angelic word for 'lust'. So this Trial monster would be called The Lusted or The Lustful, depending on the person. Ectoplasmic signature is familiar, too..." The teens watched as Caleb pressed his fingertip to the marking and waited. After a moment, he shrugged and flipped the sphere back into Danny's hands. "It's not mine."

Valerie burst into laughter before she could stop herself, earning a few odd looks in her direction. She waved a hand before herself, trying to contain herself before she could speak.

"You? What could **you** lust for? You're a robot!" she blurted out incredulously. Caleb stiffened, giving her a vague glare before shrugging again, lifting his hands with the motion.

"I don't have to tell you that. This is not my Trial." he returned smoothly and headed for his pack, "Thank you, whoever brought my things along. I'll get started on a quick meal; we will probably need to move more quickly in order to avoid discovery by the Master's servants."

With him working on cooking something up, the teens sat in a circle around the odd sphere Danny brought back, trying to decipher the meaning of the marking and figure out whose Trial it was. No one was willing to admit to anything 'lustful', and each one had bright red faces just looking at the character etched into the chamber. What did it mean, anyway? This Trial being based on lust... any normal teenager, and even the non-normal ones, had _something_ they lusted over. Why make such a big deal out of it?

"W-well." Jazz stammered out at last, eyes averting from the sphere on the floor, "It can't be talking about me; I've already faced **my** Trial and according to the textbook..."

"According to the **textbook**," Sam interrupted with a growl, "_two_ members of Lloyd's team shared the same Trial. Six members in all shared three Trials."

"But the first Trial only activated for Jazz, and it took on Jazz's likeness." Danny pointed out with a flushed face, "And Nebilim said that the levels here were different from what Caleb knows, so he wouldn't be able to give us more of an edge than normal."

"So... you're saying these Trials could be one on one?" Valerie huffed, face turned away from both him and the sphere, "Like, there's one for each of us to activate and face?" Danny shrugged lamely, pressing his fingertips together with a deeper blush. "So this whole thing with Caleb getting stuck on that pike out there was like a pre-Trial test or something? God, now I _really_ want to give that Nebilim guy a piece of my mind!"

Sam reached out tentatively, and everyone turned to watch her hand with wide eyes, breaths inhaled sharply and held. It seemed like an agonizingly long time for her to reach forward, and her hand was trembling furiously, but finally her fingertip brushed the angelic carving on the sphere before she jerked it back like the thing had tried to bite her.

No reaction.

The group gave a collective sigh of relief and Sam herself flopped backwards, arms outstretched, as she laughed nervously.

"It's not mine!" she all but sang, "It's not mine! Thank God!" Valerie growled and reached out abruptly, grabbing the sphere in one hand.

"Oh, for crying out loud, let me see! You do it like this!" she griped and jammed her thumb against the carving. There was a collective gasp of shock and horror at her actions, but when nothing happened, they wilted in relief again. Valerie pulled her thumb away and glared at the chamber, shutting one eye to make herself more intimidating. After another second, she tossed it at Danny with a snort. "Stupid thing." she muttered, dropping her chin on her hand and drumming her fingers on her knee, "When do we eat?"

Danny yelped in surprise at having the sphere thrown at him, juggling it in his hands in a panic before it finally settled with the marking well away from his own fingers. He let out a puff of air in relief, then shot a glare at the huntress.

"Thanks for the warning." he drawled.

"Shut it, Spook. And don't touch that thing. For all we know, you probably lust for destruction and last thing we need is to have a planet or something drop on our heads." she snapped back. Danny shook the sphere over his head, jerking a thumb at himself.

"For **your** information, it isn't even **my** turn for a Trial!" he argued and chucked the chamber absently at Tucker, who also juggled it comically, "I already asked Eve and she said so!"

"She could have been lying!"

"Androids can't _lie_!"

"Caleb lies!" Valerie pointed out accusingly while Caleb piped up from near the cooking pot, 'When the hell have I lied to you people?'

"Caleb's _alive_! Living people lie!"

"**You're** lying!"

"Then that means I'm alive!"

Sam sat up and shoved Danny off his seat in exasperation. "Off topic." she grumbled and froze as a voice began to speak from all around them.

_"Ambitions and dreams lead to the quest for glory and power. You seek to rise and show your potential to others in days to come. The path you desire is clear to you alone."_ The teens looked around until all eyes settled on Tucker, who had finally gotten a good grip on the chamber, and the carving that now glowed under his fingers. _"Will you lead us to your future?"_

"I didn't touch it." the technophile automatically denied, dropping the sphere at the collective 'Tuck-er!' being yelled at him in exasperation.

"We're not ready. Tell it no." Caleb called out, peering at the soup in the pot.

"Um..." Tucker fidgeted nervously, staring down at the chamber that continued to pulse with light, the flame flickering within it all the more brightly, "My future?"

"Tucker, don't be fooled by that thing!" Danny blurted out in alarm, reaching out to his friend, "My future was horrible; if that mess outside is part of the Trial, then yours must be just as bad!" Caleb looked up from the pot, eyes narrowing at the group.

"**Your** future was because you cheated on the test." Tucker pointed out with a frown, "This thing said mine was based on my dreams, and my dream is to be the best computer programmer on the planet. What could be wrong with that?" He pulled out a PDA and pointed at it. "I'd be making all kinds of sweet games and hacks for stuff like this!" he argued, "That can't be bad!" Sam pulled at her hair with a snarl of aggravation.

"Gah, Tucker! Don't you dare-!" she began to yell.

_"Will you lead us to your future?"_ the voice asked again, a nearly seductive crooning that made the idea of seeing it that much more enticing.

"Yeah! I wanna see!" Tucker exclaimed, throwing up his arms in excitement. The chamber grayed out, the flame matching its stony hue as it halted mid-flicker, frozen in place while the voice laughed derisively.

_"Then behold your **glorious** potential!"_ it declared and faded.

"TUCKER!"Danny, Sam and Valerie all yelled at him in fury. The technophile looked around at them with wide eyes, startled by the yelling.

"What? Nothing happened!" he exclaimed, then yelped when Caleb walked up and calmly slapped him upside the head, "Ow! Hey!"

"I told you to say no. Now you're going to have to wolf down supper before we go face the Trial." the android muttered, setting down the pot and passing out bowls, "This won't keep a second time; it's the vegetable stew we had the first night."

"Serves you right for rushing it." Sam pointed out angrily, "No meat!" Tucker groaned in dismay, looking into his bowl as a serving was poured out for him.

"I just wanted to see what my future would be like if Danny didn't screw it up." he mumbled.

"I already told you I fixed it!" Danny declared in frustration, throwing up his arms, "I didn't cheat, I came clean, and nobody _died_! At least not yet!" Caleb sat by him and grabbed a wrist, startling the halfa as he eyed the White Quartz bands Danny wore.

"Hold still. I need to replace these." he added under his breath, digging in his pack for more of the stones.

"Ugh, I'm not even going to **try** to figure out what you nutcases are talking about." Valerie complained, holding up her hands as though to ward them off.

* * *

After their brief supper, during which Tucker begged for meat until Caleb finally gave him a sandwich and took back the soup in order to get some quiet, the teens went back to studying the grayed out chamber. Sam prodded at the frozen flame with a twig, frowning deeply at it while the technophile talked with Danny about the ecto-based androids that he and Caleb had encountered.

"Why is this... well, like this? It's like the whole thing got dipped in stone paint, even the fire!" she remarked. Valerie peered at it as well, arms folded over her chest.

"It's giving me that same feeling as when I was checking out the bedroom in the fake Fenton Works. Like walking into an old-time picture, but not." she added and gestured at the chamber, "This is like interacting with a statue." Sam tilted her head in consideration of those words.

"Like... time is frozen?" she murmured and blinked, "Hey, did anyone notice how the sound of the rain has stopped?" The rest of the group looked to her in confusion, then stopped what they were doing to listen.

"You're right." Caleb agreed in surprise and the blank mask came over his face, shutting away any other emotions that might have threatened to escape him and reveal his thoughts.

"Why would the rain matter? I'm more interested in figuring out why the Trial hasn't shown up." Danny pointed out dryly.

"I want to know more about these ecto-androids." Tucker agreed, "Rain, schmain; I'd like to get my hands on one of them and see if I can hack their systems and figure out what made them switch sides!" Jazz rubbed a finger across her chin thoughtfully.

Fenton Works had felt like it was frozen in the past, and while Caleb's clock kept time perfectly, the grandfather clock remained stuck on a single point in time. Here, things were moving, alive, even the rain was something new and vibrant. Then Tucker activated the Trial, or at least its 'trigger', and not only did the chamber freeze over like stone, but the rain had stopped abruptly and no one noticed until Sam actually listened for it.

Did that mean that this level became 'stuck' on a point of time too?

She didn't bother to voice this question, just got up and headed for the door, sticking her head out despite her brother's shout of alarm. And it turned out she was right. With wide eyes, she took in the sight of the completely grayed out city, raindrops hanging in the air like stony ornaments on invisible tree branches, even splashes from drops that hit the ground were halted in mid-splash. She felt a sudden chill as Danny squeezed into the doorway by her, blinking out at the city to see for himself what she was staring at, and inhaling sharply when he realized what he was seeing.

They pulled back into the store, subdued from seeing time be frozen outside. Rejoining the group, brother and sister sat together, baffled.

"What happened?" Sam asked, worried over their behavior.

"Time froze." Danny muttered in a fairly awed voice, cupping his face in his hands as he looked down at the stony chamber, humbled expression painting his face.

"That's nice. Maybe we won't have to rush after all." Caleb murmured in an uninterested tone, writing leisurely into his notebook, "Figure anything out, Tucker? Based on the accounts Danny and I gave you, at least?" The dark-skinned boy stood and stretched his arms over his head.

"I think so. Lemme see." he remarked and rolled his eyes in thought, "These ecto-androids that you said weren't yours were running off of ectoplasm. The ones that you built, Caleb, originally ran off of the Tri-Crystal System, but now they're using ectoplasm too." He paused, confused. "What's the Tri-Crystal System?" he asked of the android. Caleb lifted an eyebrow, as though questioning why he would want to know such a thing, before shrugging carelessly.

"The Tri-Crystal System is a series of three mana crystals housed in a chamber in my body that serves as the source of my energy and magical power, as well as providing a link to my soul. It was created for me by my first master and has been improved upon over the course of my existence." the redhead began explaining, "Mana crystals are just super-condensed forms of mana, the source of life." He brought out the little data crystal reader again, the teens moving closer to watch in awe as Caleb slipped another gem into place and activated it. The image of three variously colored gems connected to one another via metal plates and electrical wiring hovered over the device, shimmering realistically as Caleb pointed to each one.

"My primary crystal is the largest of the three, and is used for my life functions. The secondary crystal is only somewhat smaller and acts as my backup, in case anything happens to my primary crystal. If the primary is damaged somehow, I usually go unconscious for the brief time it takes to switch to the secondary for power." the android described each part of the system briefly, "The third crystal is the same size as the secondary, and acts as a free use crystal for any additional functions I want to have active, like my wings or magic spells. In a dire emergency, it will also act as life function support if the first two crystals are damaged somehow, but I won't have use of either magic or flight."

"Is that why you can either only fly on wings or use magic on the ground? It's not enough power to do both at the same time?" Sam questioned and Caleb nodded, closing up the data reader and packing it away.

"In a sense, yes. My wings share the same mana channels as my spell systems. Trying to power both at the same time reduces the strength of their output." he clarified, "Rather than waste mana for sub-par effects, I relegate one function to have all access at any time. I can either fly at full capacity, or be able to freely use the most powerful spells I know. It all depends on the situation."

"So you **do** have some limitations. And you couldn't defeat those six androids that came after you, not on your own." Sam whispered to herself thoughtfully, then raised her voice again, "What happens if all three crystals are destroyed?" Caleb shrugged.

"I'll shut down until someone replaces the primary crystal at the very least and reactivates me, as the residual mana in the chamber and my systems is usually enough to keep my soul intact. However, if the entire system is destroyed, the crystals and the chamber that exists around it," he replied calmly, "then I'll just die. Very simple." Tucker bent to pick up the frozen chamber and studied it again as the other teens stared at the android in shock.

"All right, so now we know the Tri-Crystal Systems in the other androids were replaced with these single chambers of ectoplasmic fire; I'll call it the Ecto-Flame System." he went on, turning it one way and the other in his hand, "The Ecto-Flame System receives ectoplasm from an outside source, so it constantly gets power from somewhere else. That's either a Fenton-based generator or..." Danny turned his startled expression on his friend's face, eyes widening further as he caught onto what Tucker's trailing voice insinuated.

"It's being taken directly from a ghost." he murmured in a thick voice, "How horrible." The technophile nodded silently before twirling the chamber on a fingertip.

"This thing replaced an ancient energy system in a very advanced android, so we're dealing with someone who has a superior mind in electronics and machinery. It's using ecto-based power, so they must also be intimate with ghost info." he mused aloud, oblivious to the multiple stares being given to him, "And they also knew to nab Caleb's androids and use them as part of their plan. This Trial is definitely gonna be a tough one." Tucker suddenly grinned and tossed the sphere into the air, catching it as it came down. "Finally! An adversary worthy of my techno-geek skills!" he laughed.

"Someone with those kinds of traits?" Jazz questioned, with a puzzled expression, "Only people we know that sound like that are you and Vlad." Valerie shot her a glare.

"Vlad Masters is a **good** man; _why_ do you people like dumping on him?" she growled, "Especially considering all the good he's done for us all?"

"Didn't you say the rest of the androids came out of the mayor's office in city hall?" Tucker asked of Caleb, who nodded once.

"It's Vlad." Sam, Jazz, Danny, and Tucker as well, all intoned in the same flat, unimpressed, and not-surprised tones. Valerie gave each one her Red Huntress glare, then huffed, folding her arms over her chest with a scowl.

"There doesn't seem to be any interest in our current whereabouts." Caleb remarked absently and stood up from the fire, "I'll keep watch. All of you could use some rest before we go and investigate the mayor's office and face the Trial." No one moved for a short span of silence and the android raised an eyebrow, looking slightly miffed. "Didn't I say I would keep watch? I only sleep when I need some internal servicing of systems and data. And certainly not when I'm in a place like this!" he pointed out sourly and tossed his bedding at Danny, "You set up, but don't sleep yet."

"Yeah, yeah." the halfa grumbled under his breath, remembering what had taken place the last time he slept. He laid out the blankets and fluffed the packs as best he could for a pillow, then sat back to watch his friends do the same, squirming under covers to catch a few hours' rest. The gray chamber sat by Tucker's head, the boy sleepily looking it over for some last-second clues before eyes succumbed to demands for sleep. Valerie gave him her usual 'You're dead when he's not watching us' look, then turned her back on him in a huff, dark hair tousled around her as she got comfortable.

Danny scowled lightly, then went to watching Caleb stand before the storefront window, gazing out at the frozen world beyond, and the events at the plaza and beforehand returned to him.

_"You have something I've been looking for."_

What was Caleb looking for that Danny had? It couldn't be anything related to half-ghosts; Caleb ran into Vlad plenty of times before and had no clue that the man was a halfa as well. He scratched at his head, trying to think things out. So what about him was different from Vlad that could be of interest to a billion year old android? Power?

_"Nah. I still can't use Ghostly Wail without dumping myself back into Fenton form. I'm still getting used to having Ice powers. It can't be because of power."_ he thought to himself. Experience? Nah, Vlad had heaps more experience than he did on ghost powers. Danny blinked, then smacked his forehead in irritation. He was already following the ghost tangent when he had **just** told himself it had nothing to do with ghosts. Caleb had had zero interest in ghosts until Nebilim started screwing with the world using them. So maybe it had something to do with Danny Fenton the boy, not Danny Phantom the ghost hero.

What was special about Danny _Fenton_?

He glanced over at the android again, as subtly as possible. Caleb now sat on a crate, gazing out the window as he absently polished the giant fork -Wonder Fork, Tucker called it, that thing was called the Wonder Fork- with a clean white cloth. That odd weapon, Caleb had said it was from his best friend, that little blonde chef in the photo whom he called Wren, and he was holding it until its true heir returned for it. And he also once said that Danny reminded him a lot of that blonde chef, that they shared the same Light or something, at least the same love of the world.

Danny shook his head. He still didn't understand it; was he looking for something that was like his friend? Why? He shuffled under the blankets, pulling them over his head as he began drifting off, thoughts beginning to settle despite being confusing. Was it because Caleb thought he was a reincarnation of that guy? How weird...

* * *

The walk through the frozen rain was strange at best. On occasion, Danny would look back over his shoulder and cringe at seeing 'trails' made in the air as the group trudged on, empty paths where their bodies would interact with the stilled water, splashing on themselves as the other drops remained untouched, hovering in the air.

Danny's trail was a sinewy tunnel of dropless air suspended over the larger path taken by his friends down below. It was creepier when he went intangible to avoid the water and his 'trail' disappeared.

Caleb lit up each torch they passed to make up for having lost some Soulfire while he was away. At one of them, the group felt a sudden refreshing breeze pass over them, healing up small injuries and revitalizing their bodies. Caleb had chuckled, explaining that this torch had rewarded them with a full healing instead of just an item, like some of the others did. Danny didn't care very much for the healing; he just wished the white fire that liked his limbs so much would go away and stop popping up with each torch being lit. At least Tucker wasn't trying to smother him, too interested in studying the gray Ecto-Flame Chamber and pestering Caleb with more questions about the traitor androids.

"Hey, if time's all frozen, does that mean that the mob in the city plaza is also frozen?" Danny called down suddenly, reminded of the masses just as the group entered the plaza.

"Apparently, yes." Caleb returned mildly, looking around at the statue-like people and creatures. The teens journeyed on, wide-eyed by the mobs around them as they pushed through carefully. Above them, Danny gave the frozen androids wide berth, calling out questions about them as he spotted each one.

"So these are copies of the Heroes of Symphonia?" Valerie asked, looking up at a floating Presea, her axe wielded in one hand and a determined expression on her face, "This girl can't be more than 12 years old!"

"She was actually about 30 at that time." Caleb corrected, gazing up at the pig-tailed android, "Cruxis Crystal stunted her growth." He turned away and pressed on, "I'd stay away from her axe; she's lethal with them." Valerie shuddered and quickly moved away from the girl.

"Are they all running on the Ecto-Flame System?" Sam asked, head turning from one android to another as they picked their way through the throngs of people and frozen monsters.

"It's highly likely. They all had the ghostly wings when I fought them, and that was one of the factors that tipped off Danny about their power source. And no, Tucker, you can't hack them now; they're all frozen, remember?" their teacher muttered as he lifted and set aside statue-like people and creatures, clearing a path to the steps leading up to City Hall, "Here we are. Everyone ready?"

Danny zipped down to join them as the group nodded grimly and turned towards the door, ready to shove it open and face the Trial.

It was locked.

More than that, it was **sealed**, with six round indentations in the double doors set in the shape of a circle. Tucker tilted his head at it in confusion before snapping his fingers in realization. With the rest of Team Phantom watching warily, he pulled out the gray chamber again and slid it into one of the indentations. For a moment, nothing happened, then the sphere began to take on its original color, the now green flame in its heart flickering strongly again.

"That's new." Caleb remarked in what sounded like genuine surprise.

"We'll need the other chambers." Jazz pointed out and looked towards her brother, "Danny, can you get the rest of them from the frozen androids?"

"Sure thing." the halfa nodded and took off, zipping to each false Hero and reaching in with intangible arms, grabbing onto their Ecto-Flame Chambers and phasing them out. Each one was grayed, their flames frozen by the magic that took hold of the level when the Trial was awakened. His arms loaded with spheres, Danny headed back to the group, holding them out as Tucker, Jazz, Sam and Valerie each grabbed one and fitted them to indentations in the doors. Caleb sighed, picking one out and leaving one for the phantom.

"I'm not going to like what we'll find." the android muttered as he slid the chamber into place, Danny following him quickly after.

"What makes you say that?" he questioned and yelped as the doors swung open, an eerie moan escaping the building. Dead leaves flitted out on a sudden rush of wind that surged from within City Hall, and the teens all leaned forward to peer into the dark corridor that stretched before them.

"Remember how I said that the androids used mana-based spells and techniques against me?" Caleb returned and Danny nodded before taking on a confused expression.

"But... they're running off of ectoplasm now... How can they get mana from ectoplasm?" he murmured, eyes widening in alarm as Caleb gave him a faintly calculating look.

"Yes... that **is** the conundrum, isn't it?" he whispered and turned away, entering the shadows of the building, the teens following after in silence.

* * *

City Hall inside looked way different from the outer facade. The building opened up into a huge sphere-shape, thousands of computer screens facing inward at them, each displaying a blue field. A ring of computer consoles circled the room, all flashing lights and blinking LEDs. The doors slid shut behind the group as Team Phantom, Valerie and Caleb moved to the center of the vast space, their shoes impossibly loud against the shimmering tile floor. Phantom was spared this, hovering over the tile as he looked around himself in awe.

"Doesn't really look like something Vlad would do." he finally admitted and Valerie turned to point at him in triumph.

"Ha! Told you he wouldn't do this! He's a good man!" she declared, ignoring the flat, uninterested glares directed at her by the rest of her peers.

The screens suddenly began displaying static, sound pouring out of speakers or some hidden sound system all around the teens and android. Caleb instinctively lifted the fork, light blooming at his feet.

_"Defend us from the blows of the enemy! Field Barrier!"_ he cried, enveloping the team in the faint blue aura that was their defense against attack.

No attack came, just the screens flickering over to show images of Tucker's head, each one glaring down at the group with a sneering grin. Slowly at first, then in rapid fire, the displays all switched over to these images. The teens gaped first at the sight, then turned their stunned expressions on the Tucker that stood with them. He looked startled at first, then took on an elated expression.

"Wow! Check me out! All this cool tech and all about me!" he exclaimed and laughed.

_"Well, well, well! Look who decided life wasn't worth living anymore? My old friends... how are you these days?"_ the Tucker on display remarked with a malicious chuckle, _"Remind me to thank someone for this blast from the past."_ The smile flipped over suddenly. _"Or just blast them to bits. I don't need this stupid little intrusion in MY perfect world."_

"Oh yeah~!" Sam groused, arms folding over her chest as she shot a furious glare at Tucker, "This is **way** better than Danny's future. Idiot." Jazz smacked herself on the forehead with a soft growl of irritation.

"**How** did I not see this sooner? Vlad would have automatically been counted out as the culprit because Vlad doesn't know about Caleb or his androids!" she berated herself, "And this kind of behavior isn't typical of a megalomaniac like Vlad; he'd try to manipulate Danny using Caleb in a trap, not try to outright destroy them both like that!" Valerie only cringed around herself, looking more creeped out than frightened.

"This is way too freaky to be real. This **is** the Trial, right?" she asked, "Please tell me this is the Trial and we have free reign to beat it up."

"Beat what up? All I see right now are just computer screens." Caleb returned dryly, arms folded over his chest, eyes narrowing, "I want answers. That's it." Danny looked around himself, scanning the many monitors that filled the room, each with a glaring head that was far older than the Tucker that stood among them. **Was** this the Trial? Tucker's Trial?

"How is this related to lust?" he questioned softly, floating by the android who only tapped his foot impatiently against the tile. "Tucker's a techno-geek, yeah, but if he's the one controlling all the androids you built, why would he want you destroyed?" He rubbed his head in confusion. "Wouldn't you be a prime catch for him, being the only living android in existence?" he muttered under his breath, "I don't get it."

_"Well, I suppose I should thank you for bringing back that obsolete piece of technology."_ the Tucker heads went on after a moment, looking imperious and noses lifted as if they were insignificant to him, _"The sooner I am rid of it, the better."_

"Tucker! What the hell did you do to Amity Park?" Sam shouted at the heads, fed up with the arrogance, "You stole Caleb's androids and made them all screwy in the head, you wrecked the town, and you nearly blew up the Guardian Angel of Heroes!" The heads took on a viciously affronted expression, snarling down at her and the rest of the teens.

_"How dare you speak back to me in such a manner! I am NOT Tucker!"_ they roared and the screens began blinking out to black, one by one. Two glowing green orbs lifted from the consoles across from Team Phantom and a massive version of Tucker's head bloomed into existence around the floating spheres, flames of bright blue surrounding him like a ghostly aura. _"I am the Architect of Terror! The Draftsman of Malice! I am... **the Revengineer**!"_ the giant head bellowed in a voice that nearly threw the teens back. Danny flailed in the air out of surprise before catching himself and glaring back at the head.

"Technus must be starting lame trends again." he remarked loudly enough to be heard by the rest of his friends and the self-proclaimed Revengineer, "That has got to be..."

"...the dumbest super-anything name I've ever heard!" Tucker himself declared in annoyance, the technophile folding his arms over his chest and peering up at his older self, "What did you do? Tutor under Technus 2.0 or something? You've got experience from me, don't you? You've got the entire global network called the Internet at your fingers and **that's** the best you could come up with?"

_"Silence!"_ the Revengineer bellowed again, spinning around the room's circumference to glare at them from all angles, _"This world's mine to do with as I like and I just so happen to **like** the title I came up with! It's much more interesting than some lame name like 'Danny **Phantom**'!"_ Danny's head whipped around to stare at his friend with a mildly irritated look.

"You think my name's lame?" he questioned flatly and Tucker held up a hand, pinching two fingers tightly together.

"Only **that** much, I swear!" he returned quickly.

_"It is a name fitting for someone like me."_ the Revengineer went on arrogantly, _"Someone who has attained and controls every piece of technology on the planet, from the simplest calculator to the most advanced example of magitechnology to ever exist!"_ The group collectively gasped in shock, with Caleb only standing impassively by the hovering halfa, still tapping his foot against the floor. _"I have ascended beyond anyone that has ever existed, does exist, or will ever come to exist in my world. I am supreme in all things, and technology is merely a toy for my amusement, a weapon for displaying my power, a bauble to be shown for my personal pleasure. Everything that exists belongs to me and obeys my every whim."_ the giant head crooned as Tucker simply turned in place, watching with a suddenly much sharper gaze while the Revengineer circled them.

"Somebody's gotten a big ego to match their big head." Sam commented dryly, putting her arms akimbo as she turned her head one way and the other to follow the massive thing.

"Can we **please** blow this thing to kingdom come and get on with this quest?" Valerie shouted in exasperation, her hands having formed into fists since the Revengineer's first appearance, her stance already set for action. Caleb shook his head.

"We can't. The Trial hasn't revealed itself yet." he remarked calmly, finally stilling his foot, "I suspect that this will be different than the other Trials, the ones I know and the one we faced a bit ago." He glanced aside at Tucker, watching the teen pull out one of his beloved PDAs and start tapping madly away at its keys. "This one's stalling." The Revengineer sneered at hearing his words, chuckling maliciously.

_"Stalling? Well then, why don't I just get right to it and have you all destroyed here and now?"_ he taunted and Danny's eyes flashed a vibrant yellow-green hue in fury.

"You **can't** destroy anything now!" he snapped back, "I've already taken all your converted androids out of commission!" His anger melted quickly into confusion as the Revengineer began laughing, a dementedly gleeful sound that surrounded the teens and made them take a step back subconsciously. Finally, he stopped and smiled widely down at them, eyes narrowing as the green spheres that made up his irises and pupils shone ever brighter.

_"Didn't I **just** tell you I controlled the most advanced piece of magitechnology in existence?"_ he purred, a section of the floor just under him splitting open slowly, and the sound of a lift rising up from deep below the building emerged from the newly created entry. _"I think I'll indulge myself in a little entertainment by having him turn you into what you should be already. Things of the past!"_ he finished grandly, laughing at the expressions of shock and horror that filled Team Phantom's faces upon recognizing the figure that stood upon the flooring closing its entryway, _"Look upon my greatest achievement in techno-takeover! Caleb 2.0!"_

A perfect replica of the teacher stood across the way, gazing dully at them while dressed in the green jacket and clothes the true Caleb wore. Ghostly green wings spread from his back, lifting him just enough to hover an inch or so above the mirror-like tile. Red hair remained tied back loosely in his signature ponytail, the Eternal Sword Pin still attached to his lapel.

Sam's hands flew up to cover her mouth, her violet eyes wide with sheer horror. "Y-you... you _copied_ Caleb?" she finally exclaimed at the head, who only laughed again.

_"You **still** underestimate my supremeness in technology!"_ he retorted, _"That **is** Caleb, converted over to the Phantom Fire System and programmed to serve only me and respond to **my** commands!"_ The teens all shuddered, swallowing hard as they took up defensive stances, glancing furtively back at the silent teacher that stood with them, neutral expression on his face. They had seen what he was capable of doing, they knew that his perfect neutrality was an advantage they couldn't cope with or subvert. All they could do was hope that having the original Caleb on their side would be enough to distract his double long enough to let Danny steal the Ecto-Flame chamber.

But the android only stepped forward, gesturing out with his arms for them to stay back, his steps unnaturally loud as he strode forth to stand before them all, facing his future self. Danny reached out to stop him, but Caleb only gestured again for him to hang back.

"I know him and he knows me. Leave this to us. Just keep Tucker safe, no matter what." he spoke flatly before taking a deep breath and setting his feet apart in an open stance, hanging his arms loosely at his sides. "You will face me here! Agreed?" he called out to his twin. He watched as the other Caleb mirrored him, ghostly wings vanishing the instant his feet touched the floor.

"AGREED." Caleb 2.0 returned emotionlessly, his voice sounding oddly artificial in comparison to the teacher's. For several moments, they stood apart this way, separated by the length of a standard high school classroom. Neither moved, neither even twitched, silent and still as they gazed at one another with perfectly blank faces, half-lidded eyes locked on the other's lack of expression.

Finally, the Revengineer's irritation was made vocal, yelling in a fury at his Caleb 2.0 to strike down the original, to move, to do something besides stand there like a broken toaster. The teens looked to one another in confusion, baffled as well by the lack of any action at all. They had expected an epic battle between the two Calebs; this deathly silence was unnerving and completely opposite of what they thought would happen.

It was Danny who had the epiphany, eyes widening in understanding.

"They know each other." he whispered, "They're stalemating!" Everyone turned to look at him in surprise, including the Revengineer. Tucker paid no heed, still fiddling with his PDA with a furiously concentrated expression on his face. Danny looked around himself, startled by the sudden attention before rubbing his neck almost sheepishly. "Well, it's what he said, remember? Caleb knows him and he knows Caleb. So they know each other's strengths and weaknesses. They're perfectly matched, even if Caleb 2.0 is using the Ecto-Flame System to be powered." he explained and gestured at the androids, "Both of them have tons of fighting experience and know everything there is to know about combat. The first move one of them makes could be a fatal mistake that could cost them the battle. They both know it. Caleb can't afford to lose because he's protecting and guiding us. Caleb 2.0 can't afford to lose because the Revengineer ordered him to win no matter what." He smiled and threw open his arms in a finish. "So they can only stand there like that because they're locked up in their programs! Because they can't lose, they can't move!"

The Revengineer seemed to fly into a rage at that, screaming furiously at the two androids while the teens watched them, enlightened by Danny's words and smiling at the shift in situations. Tucker broke that moment of calm confidence by tilting his head just enough to look at Danny from the corner of his eyes.

"You forgot something important, Danny. A flaw." he murmured, and all eyes shot to him in renewed wariness and unease.

"What?" Valerie demanded darkly. Tucker returned to his tapping, focused on the screen of his PDA again as he went on.

"Think about it. Remember all that **we** know about Caleb, what we've learned, what we've seen, what we've looked up about him in the Archives." he spoke quietly, certainly, "Caleb is alive, a living android. The only one of his kind in the entire world. He is a machine with a soul, a soul that exists because his body was made to support mana, to have it flow through him, to support _life_. Back in the library, he said that Nebilim learned how to kill him- by destroying the Tri-Crystal System, the three crystals set in place of his heart. Caleb also told us that it is the link to his soul. That means his soul, his **life**, is dependent on keeping that system intact." His eyebrows furrowed together, giving him a far sterner and more serious expression than any ever seen before. "But Caleb 2.0 was converted to the Ecto-Flame System; his Tri-Crystal chamber was removed, replaced with ectoplasmic fire." His eyes flicked up from the screen, catching the stunned looks on his friends' faces and matching them with a grim one of his own. "That means there's nothing to tie Caleb's soul to him. He lost his soul in the conversion." he finished quietly, "Caleb **died** in the process of becoming Caleb 2.0. And I know for certain Caleb knows this. He has to; otherwise, he would never have faced him so openly."

"Caleb, being alive, values _our_ lives, so he can't move because he's shielding us. Caleb 2.0, who **isn't** alive, doesn't care, so he can't move to attack either because Caleb will move to stop him and make him lose." Danny summed up in shock, "So how are we supposed to find the Trial if he's locked this whole place up facing his dead twin?"

_"I've had enough of this."_ the Revengineer grumbled in irritation before shouting another command, _"Technus 2.0! Get out here and destroy these little nothings!"_

Team Phantom looked up in renewed shock as a screen glowed brilliantly, a flash of energy rushing out and taking the form of the cloaked ghost, his laughter filling the air.

"YES! I, Technus 2.0, Master of ALL Technology, will-!" he began his usual pre-battle ranting, only to be thrown out of it by a powerful blast from Danny's hands.

"Shut up for once in his afterlife!" the ghost boy finished for him, face coloring out of aggravation, "What the heck is this? What's Technus doing in the Book of the Underworld?" The other specter pulled himself out of a hole in the sparking wall of broken monitors, rubbing his head and scowling down at the teens taking up battle stances against a more familiar foe.

"Well, young whippersnapper, if you had _let me finish_, I would have told you that I was summoned here by the Great Lord Nebilim to destroy you and that puny box of fire with my-!" he raged and waved his hands suddenly, fending off a sudden assault of discs hurled at him by Valerie, "Hey! I wasn't done yet!" Growling under his breath, Technus reached out towards the teens, glowing with ectoplasmic power as several monitors were ripped from the walls and hurled themselves down at Team Phantom, the group collectively firing back with whatever weapons they had on hand.

Explosions filled the air as the second battle went underway, the two Calebs still frozen in their stalemate and staring at one another. No words passed between them, and none needed to be said. Both were clear on their goals and intentions. After all... they knew each other as intimately as they knew themselves. However, one was alive; the other, not. One had dreams; the other did not.

And one had sins the other no longer carried.

The Revengineer laughed as Technus called forth serpents made from the cables of the computer consoles, ignoring the flickering of the giant head that was becoming more prevalent as the battle went on. Jazz cried out in alarm as one of the wired snakes wrapped around her waist and hoisted her into the air. She kicked at the air uselessly, the Fenton Peeler's aim unsteady as she was shaken around. Its original function would work fine on Technus, if only she could fire it properly. But her little brother faced the technophile ghost, and she couldn't risk hitting Danny.

"Jazz!" Danny cried worriedly, struggling to split his attention between his sister and the maniac darting around him with another arsenal of monitors without getting the stuffing beat out of him for it. He rushed backwards, keeping a wary gaze on Technus as Sam lashed out at him from below with the Jack-O-Nine Tails, Valerie racing by on her hoverboard with her rifle blasting away. "Don't worry! I've got you!" the halfa exclaimed as he began punching the snake's face, trying to get it to loosen its grip on Jazz and allow him the moment needed to pull her free. The carrot-top waved her arms frantically, eyes wide.

"Danny! Look out!" she screamed, the cry sounding louder as a second serpent darted in from the side to clamp its jaws onto the ghost boy. Circuit-board teeth pinned him in place, and Danny struggled fiercely to get free. The blue aura of the _Field Barrier_ had long faded away, and the physical damage was beginning to show on him, cuts and tears in his suit and skin dripping green as he pounded on the snake's nose.

"Let go of me!" he raged, reaching out to fire a Ghost Ray at the serpent's eye. The display screen that made up that eye exploded from the blast, and it opened its jaws to shriek in pain. Danny flew free of it and immediately returned to pounding on Jazz's captor, punching through the glass eyes for faster results. Jazz screamed in alarm as the snake loosened its hold and she fell from the great height. _'Move! Move! Move!'_ Danny chanted mentally, racing down after her to spare her from impact. His arms wrapped around her -_'Too fast, too far to pull up!'_- and he spun in place, gritting his teeth and bracing himself, remembering at the very last moment- _'Duh! Ghost powers? Intangibility ring a bell?'_.

Sam shrieked at seeing the impact, her eyes wide at the sight of one of her best friends slamming into the tile floor at full speed to spare Jazz from the blow.

And Caleb's head jerked, eyes wide and shifting to see what became of the boy...

And Caleb 2.0 struck.


	14. Chapter 14

14

Sam covered her ears, dark hair whipping around her face as the blur of green and red flew past her and smashed into the wall of computers on the opposite side of the room. Tucker himself had ducked out of sight the minute Technus appeared, and the last anyone saw of him he had a growing smile on his face, a smile reserved for victories in any computer game he got his hands on. The collision of androids and computers triggered another explosion, one that rocked the room and nearly flung Valerie off of her hoverboard, Technus merely going intangible to avoid the shockwave. Sam shook herself off and raced to join Jazz, who stood over the still form of her brother and kept him defended by 'peeling' Technus's power from the cable serpents that tried to finish them off, dropping them to the floor in giant, lifeless heaps.

"Oh God, oh God, oh God..." the Goth chanted softly as she knelt by Danny, hands quickly feeling over him in search of serious injuries. An impact like that would result in a broken spine or neck, shattered ribs, a punctured lung, something! Danny had survived worse falls before, worse impacts, but this was the first she could recall where he had been taking the impact with another person, using himself to cushion the blow. "Be okay, be okay, please, please, be okay!" Sam went on, unzipping the front of his suit to get a better feel for any injury. Ectoplasm soon stained her hands as she swept fingers over puncture wounds, testing for shifts in bones that would mean something broke.

"Not good. The Calebs are fighting." Jazz whispered harshly, shifting her stance to act as a barricade between them and Danny and Sam, "Danny falling must have set one of them off, most probably the real Caleb." Sam jerked her head up, watching with mixed horror and awe as the twin redheads flew out of the wrecked wall and set to lashing out at one another in a flurry of punches and kicks, too bent on destroying one another to focus on spells, their vastly different wings helping to tell them apart as each one aimed to hit the one spot on them both that would spell doom; their power sources, the Tri-Crystal and Ecto-Flame Systems.

"_People!_ A little _help_ here?" Valerie shrieked in irritation as Technus continued launching his own assault on her, laughing in mad glee over Danny's apparent defeat.

"A whelp like you will fall faster than the Ghost Boy did!" he exclaimed arrogantly, flicking a hand to send another monitor sailing towards the huntress, "This is the power of the almighty Technus 2.0 and the Great Lord Nebilim, King of the Underworld and soon-to-be ruler of the Earth!" The display blew apart with another of Valerie's laser blasts slamming into it. Sam grabbed the Jack-O-Nine Tails from the floor where she had dropped it to tend to Danny and began standing up to join the fight. She didn't know where Tucker was, she didn't know how Danny was doing, having gotten only labored breathing for her troubles as the boy continued bleeding all over the floor, and she didn't know who would come out the winner in the match between the two Calebs. All she knew was that she had to do _something_ before everything fell apart, never mind the fact that this wasn't her Trial.

_'The Trial hasn't even **shown up** yet. Not really. Caleb said so.'_ Sam thought to herself distantly, _'Caleb... who could be ripped to pieces any second now, for all I know.'_ She whipped the weapon aside, letting the tails come to their full-length, then waited, watching Technus carefully. Valerie was doing a good job keeping him busy, and the Revengineer was too into laughing like an egomaniac to pay attention to her. All she needed was the right moment.

* * *

"All those centuries, millennia really, spent in archiving and gathering information... and you just **had** to stop learning things the moment that maniac got his hands in you." Caleb growled furiously at his other self, sending a flurry of punches in his direction in attempts to break past the magitech clothing and gain access to the system powering the converted android. Caleb 2.0 evaded the punches easily, lashing out to grab onto his arm at the final strike.

"DATA NOT RELEVANT TO THE IMMEDIATE CONCERNS OF THE MASTER OR MY SYSTEM MAINTENANCE IS INSIGNIFICANT." the converted android returned in the same lifeless voice as before, "IRRELEVANT DATA WAS PURGED UPON REACTIVATION AS CALEB VERSION 2." Caleb had only a split second to express shock and horror before he was spun around by his arm and hurled back into the wall of display screens, sending glass shards and debris raining down on the teens below. An instant later, he was back out, racing to meet the incoming ecto-angelic android with a more determined expression on his face, the Wonder Fork in his grip and held out to one side for battle.

* * *

Jazz took Sam's place at Danny's side, her hand reaching out to grasp his as she held them both over his heart. She murmured softly to him, random words of comfort, of letting him know that she was with him and sorry she hadn't fired the Peeler sooner because she just remembered that it didn't work on her little brother anymore thanks to Caleb, but that's okay because Danny would be okay, just hang on a little longer and Caleb would finish off his twin and come heal him and they'd get Technus and everything would be fine, just **fine**.

"You're... an awful... liar... Jazz..." Danny managed to wheeze out faintly, opening his eyes to look up at her face, pain twisting his own into a grimace. His sister managed a tearful smile, chuckling softly.

"It's not really my strong suit." she admitted, "Don't worry; we'll take care of everything. You just keep up your strength." A blast of heat and debris passed over them and Jazz immediately ducked to cover her brother, protecting him from the mess kicked up by the two Calebs's duel. She jerked her head up, watching intently as the androids seemed to dance around one another, wings flapping as they soared upwards and hurled one another into display screens at every opportune moment, trying to short their opponent out so as to easily destroy the chambers powering them. She could see the teacher lashing out often with the fork as well, using it as a staff, spear, and sword with ease.

"They're... never gonna... stop fighting..." Danny whispered weakly, watching them from where he lay. Jazz looked down at him questioningly and his lips pulled into a slight smile, a tired expression on his face as the ring of white bloomed around his waist, splitting in two as they began to travel along his body, changing him back into Fenton form. "They can't... afford... to... lose..." he finished, eyes closing as his head dropped aside.

"Danny?" Jazz whispered softly, eyes wide and filling with tears, "Danny... no... wake up... c'mon, Little Brother... Don't **do** this to me!" The clatter of a giant utensil sounded nearby, almost lost among the sounds created by blasts of laser and ectoplasm being traded by Technus and Valerie. "Danny! Danny, open your eyes! **Look** at me!"

* * *

"Look at me... heh... never thought I'd be this much trouble..." Caleb chuckled softly, watching his converted self pry himself out of another hole in the way with not even a bit of faked fatigue marring what was left of his face. Both androids had sustained large amounts of surface damage where the mythril and magitech-threaded green clothes didn't protect, shreds of synthetic skin hanging from his cheeks, exposing the metallic skeletal structure underneath, his hands in similar condition. "Wonder if this is what all those old villains saw when I refused to stay down." he added wistfully, sparing a glance down at the ground. If he could just get his hands on the fork again, without the converted android realizing it until it was too late, it would be just the thing to finish the battle.

"Well, time to defeat the man in the mirror, I guess." Caleb muttered grimly, rushing forward to meet with his other self in another head-on attack.

* * *

"I, Technus 2.0, shall not be defeated by a...!" the ghost declared and ended on a shriek as Sam lashed out with the Jack-O-Nine Tails, snaring Technus in its ropes and holding him in place long enough for Valerie to whip out her version of the Fenton Thermos and aim it at him. "No! Nooooo!" Technus wailed as he was caught in the beam and sucked into its depths, "Looooord Nebiliiiiiiim!"

* * *

_"Daaaaannnnyyy!"_ Jazz screamed aloud, bending to clutch her brother and shield his human self from sight, both Sam and Valerie whipping their heads around to stare at her, one with sudden fear, the other completely baffled.

Caleb hit the floor nearby, hurled down by Caleb 2.0 as he rushed down to deliver another blow. The red-winged angel scrambled to his feet, snatched up the lost fork in both hands, and thrust upward just as the other android shifted to pull up from the attack, failing to compensate for his momentum. In a near agonizingly loud screech of metal on metal, Caleb 2.0 impaled himself upon the prongs of the Wonder Fork, puncturing the Ecto-Flame Chamber and forcing it out through his back. The android went limp, ghostly green wings fading away like smoke on the wind as Caleb turned the utensil aside, gritting his teeth as his twin hit the tile and stayed prone. A yank later, the fork was free and he was at Danny's side, wings flaring again to act as a shield over Jazz and the boy, Sam helping to hold Valerie back despite wanting to join the small huddle herself.

"What's going on?" the huntress demanded, trying to shove the Goth away, "What happened to that ghost kid? Let me see!"

"Just stay the hell away from him!" Sam snapped back tearfully, "What do **you** care what happened to him? **You're** the one trying to kill him when all he's done is try to keep us safe!"

Caleb placed his fingertips over Danny's heart, eyes closed as he took in the halfa's vital signs and analyzed whatever data he could glean from the contact. Jazz bit her lip worriedly, trying to contain her sobs as she cradled the silent boy in her arms.

"He's very weak, but still alive." he finally murmured, opening his eyes to gaze down at the halfa. A circle of light bloomed beneath them in the familiar healing spell, the fork lifted over the boy to act as a focus. _"Mana around me, mend this broken form! Cure!"_ Healing mana rushed into Danny's limp form, repairing broken bones and infusing him with new life energy. The teen twitched in response, coughing faintly as he opened his eyes to look up at his sister.

"J-Jazz?" he mumbled and she nodded eagerly, a smile breaking out on her face as she cried again, this time from relief. "Em... barrassing... me..." Danny managed to mutter, glancing down at her arms wrapped around him. She only laughed, shaking her head in exasperation while Caleb dug around in his pack for his blanket.

"He's bled out a lot of ectoplasm. It may be some time before he has enough to change back." he muttered and quickly wrapped Danny in the bedding, "I'll keep him out of sight until then. The rest of you..."

_"This has been rather amusing, but I've had quite enough of you all damaging my beautiful technology."_ the Revengineer interrupted, scowling more as all eyes turned to look at him in surprise, _"Yes, yes! I'm still here! Hello? The guy trying to kill you to pieces? Yeah, that's me!"_

"Huh." Caleb mused aloud as he stood, fork once again strapped to his back and a completely bundled up Danny Fenton resting in his arms, face burning with embarrassment, "I thought Tucker dealt with you already." The Revengineer glared furiously at him and opened his mouth to speak, only to cross his eyes in sudden surprise at a beam of yellow light that fired through his nose and hit another screen behind him. The group froze, startled by the shot, then turned to trace its route back to Tucker, who stood nearby with the Lens gun in one hand and his PDA in the other, a flat, unimpressed glare on his face aimed up at the Revengineer.

"I was about to." he answered Caleb's comment, ignoring the collective blinking of eyes as they stared at him.

_"And just **what **was that supposed to prove?"_ the giant Tucker head asked in irritation, _"I've already told you that I have ascended and am master over all technology, even that stupid little toy gun."_

"What it proves," Tucker retorted, shifting the aim of his Lens gun, "is that you haven't really done anything. No ascension, no supremacy. Nothing." He shook his PDA. "I watched you this whole time, and hacked the systems in this room that weren't totally destroyed. You've got two cameras here, watching us, always following us so you could see what we did." he revealed with a grim smile, "And there's a chamber below us, with life support systems. Not needed for holding Caleb 2.0, but definitely needed for _living_ people." He fired the Lens gun again and one of the Revengineer's eyes blew out, the glowing sphere dropping straight down and exploding in all its mechanical glory. The head flickered even more chaotically, features beginning to fall apart. "You needed those cameras to keep track of us, and also to act as the focus of your projection. Without them, you have no reference to make a realistic head model." Tucker went on and shifted the gun again, firing another bolt to destroy the second eye and completely shatter the illusion, "_Wizard of Oz_ moment, man. Come out from behind your curtain and let's get the party started for real."

A howl of rage began filling the air, the dome of broken monitors and smashed consoles beginning to quake around the teens and android. Loosened display screens from the angel androids' duel fell free, dropping to the ground like deadly electronic rain. Caleb knelt to set the bundled teen down, then pressed metal fingers to his pin, murmuring softly and lighting up in a pale white glow that faded to leave him restored. No use traumatizing the teens around him by having them realize they were staring at a very disfigured mythology teacher, not when they were having problems enough avoiding being crushed by the falling debris.

"Gah! What's going on **now**?" Valerie yelled furiously, ducking and covering her head as she tried to look around herself, "Didn't Tucker beat his Trial? Is this how the teleporter gets revealed?"

"That was a stall tactic! This is the **real** Trial coming up!" Sam yelled back, trying to keep herself steady as the shaking threatened to knock her off her feet. Overhead, a bright flash went off, catching the attentions of the group below, and they looked up to see a sphere of white and red light begin to grow from the ceiling, very fast, very destructive by the looks of the walls and displays being torn apart as they were touched by the light.

"What the...? What's **that**?" Jazz shouted, alarmed by the light racing down to them, now dome-shaped instead of a sphere. She looked to Caleb for answers, shocked to find him watching the light with complete horror on his face, undisguised and unmasked.

"No... That's not _possible_!" he whispered, eyes wide. He froze for only a second more before he pulled Danny back upright and opened the blanket hurriedly. "Danny! Can you change yet? I need you to make an ecto-shield! Big one! Enough to cover your friends!"

The halfa blinked up at him from within the confines of the thick material, blue eyes full of confusion before they looked past the frantic teacher to see the incoming rush of light and fire and burning rubble. Then they simply filled with panic and dread as well. He recognized that light too.

"I can't yet! Not enough power!" he exclaimed and yelped when Caleb dropped him. Jazz echoed his cry, baffled by the android scrambling past her to grab the Ecto-Flame chamber that he'd gouged out of his converted self. He slid back across the floor and thrust the thing into her brother's hands, his wings fanning out to shield him from Valerie's sight, though she, Sam and Tucker were all too busy with trying to avoid debris and gape at the dome of fire raging down at them.

"Put your hand in the flames and absorb them!" Caleb barked at the raven-haired teen. Danny juggled the chamber in his hands as the teacher pulled the blanket open more to give him extra space for movement. "Hurry!"

"What? This? But-!" he exclaimed and yelped when Caleb grabbed his wrist and thrust his hand into the mesh of metal, right into the heart of the ectoplasmic fire. The flames swirled around his hand for a moment before vanishing into his body, giving the boy a strange rush that felt familiar. _'Like when I get healed with one of Caleb's spells, or I get some boost in ghost power...'_ he thought giddily, oblivious to his hand being pulled from the chamber and it being tossed away.

"Now change! Hurry! Or your friends die right in front of you!" Caleb snapped, "Build a shield around them!" With that, he thrust the fork into Jazz's hands and rushed away from them, grabbing each teen and shoving them in the Fentons' direction. Danny barely managed to transform into his Phantom self before Valerie landed in a heap before him, griping about the abuse being heaped on her for no reason. "Danny! NOW!" Caleb roared back at him and the halfa yelped, lifting his hands to project a dome of glowing green ectoplasm in a Ghost Shield of his own.

"What about you? Caleb!" Jazz yelled through the protective dome at the teacher.

Caleb stood before the group huddled under the dome of green, staring up at the incoming mass of light and fire mana with a mix of emotions that he didn't have the time to sort out. There was one spell in his arsenal that could cancel this one, nullify the very spell that he had used only hours ago with the Wonder Fork. But in his entire life, he had only cast it twice, both times when the world was still known as Symphonia. Would it still work? Even after all these countless years?

_"I call upon the emptiness within your hearts,"_ he intoned, spreading his hands out to his sides as spheres of frost blue and black mana began collecting before his palms, the circle of magic at his feet blooming to life and kicking up a fierce wind to rival the bright light racing towards them, _"to nullify the light of your lives!"_

"That spell coming down at us; that's _Incineration_!" Danny blurted out in horror and looked to Tucker, "You said it's like a nuclear blast! Caleb's toast out there!" He began looking more panicked. "We can't leave him out there! I'm dropping the shield; you guys get him in here and I'll raise it again! Magic won't work on ectoplasm!"

"Danny, that won't work! He's an **android**! Do you have any idea how **heavy** he is? We'd never be able to drag him back against his will!" Sam shot at him, her face paler than usual, "He's got to have a plan, a fail-safe or something! He wouldn't be stupid enough to kiss a nuke without a plan!"

"It's gonna hit!" Valerie screamed, pulling on her hair, "We're gonna _diiiieee_!"

_"Forsaken!"_ Caleb finally called out, thrusting both hands up at the dome of light and fire. The spheres in his hands collapsed into each other, merged to create a single sphere of striped blue and black, and collapsed further into a tightly compressed ball. The incoming _Incineration_ spell suddenly began falling apart, breaking up into streams of mana that flowed in a spiral into the tiny ball of blue and black. Faster and faster, more of the spell collapsed and scattered before draining down into the sphere floating over Caleb's palms.

The angel looked as though he was struggling, legs bracing against the floor as the spell continued trying to break past him and burn him and Team Phantom to nothing. The mirror-like tile cracked further, the floor buckling under his feet and spreading to under the protection of Danny's shield. Tucker stared out at him in shock, PDA clutched in one hand and subconsciously snapping photos as his free hand pressed up against the green dome.

"That looks... Did he just...?" he grasped at words, trying to come to terms with what he was seeing. Sam pressed both hands against the dome beside him, staring wide-eyed at the scene before them as well.

"Oh my God..." she murmured, "That spell... Caleb can cast a spell that acts like a _black hole_?"

"That's impossible!" Danny blurted out incredulously, "Nobody can **make** a black hole!"

The floor buckled again, forming a shallow crater at Caleb's feet that would have knocked him over had he not braced himself beforehand. The teens cried out in alarm and the android spared them a brief glance, then returned to his struggle with the incoming spell. It was by far the largest casting of _Incineration_ he'd ever come across, whether from himself or from his long-passed best friend. Could its counter-spell handle it?

"Please..." he whimpered softly, more to himself than anyone else, "Please, Martel. They came because of me. They don't deserve this!" The streams of mana began whipping around above him in a frenzy, spiraling at breakneck speed into the ball of frost blue and black until it looked a great deal like the vortex of light spinning over Casper High.

"Y'know, if it weren't for the fact that it's a giant tornado of light and fire and doom about to crash down on our teacher and possibly destroy us all, that would probably make for a really cool desktop wallpaper." Sam remarked idly, her voice tinged with a note of growing hysteria.

Nothing remained of the dome of monitors and computer consoles now, and the twisted remnants of _Incineration_ still pressed down on Caleb, whirling wreckage slamming into him at random and tearing new gashes into recently restored synthetic skin. They slammed against the Ghost Shield Danny had erected, cracking open holes in the protective dome that forced the boy to block out the sight before him and focus entirely on maintaining the shield and keeping everyone safe. Valerie peered at the android through the green ectoplasm dome, a suspicious look on her face.

"He's talking to himself. Oh, **this** is wonderful; we're about to die, and the **robot** snaps before we do." she groused.

"What? Let me see." Sam put in, taking a place beside the huntress and squinting her eyes before hauling out her binoculars and peering through those instead. "I can't make out what he's saying. Anyone know how to read lips?"

"Scoot over!" Jazz announced, staking out a spot beside the Goth and grabbing her binoculars to see for herself, "Uh huh. Uh huuuh. Okay... uh huh... yeah... Ahhhh..." Sam and Valerie glanced at one another, shrugged, then looked back at the older girl expectantly. "...I have no idea what he's saying." Jazz finally admitted.

_"Jazz!"_

The spiral of light and fire finally broke apart, whipping into the air and fizzling out to nothing. Caleb snapped his arms apart, letting the magical void he created dissipate as well, before dropping to his knees and falling forward to lie perfectly still in the shallow crater. Danny dropped the shield immediately, flying over to check on him while the others got to their feet shakily, only to fall right back over as the floor exploded directly beneath the phantom and the android, sending them both flying in different directions.

_"I have risen!"_ a glowing green and black figure roared triumphantly as it hovered over the ruins of City Hall.

"Danny!" Sam cried out, scrambling to reach her friend from where he landed among the rubble. Tucker glared up at the figure instead, picking up the forgotten binoculars and looking through them to see what had erupted from below the computer room.

The figure was adult in size, sporting black armor and brilliantly glowing green gauntlets, boots and belt. Some odd helm took the place of the figure's head and face, narrow glowing green slits for eyes on a featureless face while flames of ectoplasm rose from its head. On its chest plate were a series of letters and a number.

"R.E.V. Zero." Tucker read and shouted up at the figure, "Hey! Does that mean your name is Revision Zero?"

_"What? NO!"_ the figure snapped back down at him, _"I am the Revengineer! I already told you that!"_

"Coulda fooled me! You look like a Skulker reject impersonator!"

* * *

Danny pushed himself up just as Sam reached his side, coughing dust out as he shook his head to clear out the ringing in his ears. The landing had been rough, but not very much so. He still had plenty of energy left, though still surprising from its source, and it didn't feel like he picked up any new injuries, so he wouldn't be using any of it on healing for a while yet.

"Are you okay? Danny?" Sam called to him, holding his arm as she pulled him to his feet. The phantom pressed a hand to the side of his head, trying to quell the pounding before answering.

"Urgh. Yeah. Still in one piece at least." he returned and squinted one eye shut as he looked up at the figure not too far away from them, "What the heck blew outta the floor like that? Did you guys find Caleb too? Is he all right?" Sam shook her head.

"I don't know. That thing just zoomed up like some demented rocket. It threw Caleb the other way." she replied uncertainly, "He didn't look like he was in great condition, not after tearing through a copy of his own spell like that, so who knows how he is now?" She bit her lip, then sighed harshly. "If this **is** Tucker's real Trial, we'd better count Caleb out on this one. There's just no way he's gonna be able to fight now."

"But..." Danny mumbled worriedly and the Goth girl gave him a reassuring grin.

"Relax, Danny. He's survived all kinds of wars and evil takeovers and maniacs that were probably way worse than Dan Phantom. As long as his crystals are still in one piece, and he's still going even after taking a nasty beating at that executioner's pike, Caleb will keep on moving." she added and winked at him, "Don't you wanna show him what you can do as a real Hero anyway? He kinda babies you, if you haven't noticed." Danny stuck his tongue out at her, grimacing at the accusation as he lifted into the air, pulling her along with him.

"Funny. But all right. We kick this stupid Trial's butt and then we hunt down Caleb again." he groused, "Because I'm just getting more and more questions about this whole thing that don't make any sense!" And with that, he and Sam flew back to join their friends and the mystery figure.

* * *

"I don't get it. We're still facing the Revengineer, but Caleb said that the Trial would be called The Lusted or The Lustful." Jazz pointed out to Valerie as the huntress assembled a small number of her throwing discs and bombs for quick access, "If this is the point where the **real** Trial appears, why are we still facing that freaky future Tucker?" Danny and Sam touched down by them just in time to hear that question.

"Because Tucker probably hasn't really admitted to his own sin. I think." Danny replied, scratching his head. "Like when you told the secret about the Fentons that summoned up The Ashamed immediately. Since you admitted right away what it was that made you ashamed, it brought the Trial out on the spot." Sam tapped her lips thoughtfully, then snapped her fingers as a thought struck her.

"That's gotta be it! Tucker said that he wanted to see his future be about technology and we all know how much he loves computers and electronics. What if his sin of lust wasn't really about technology, but about something else?" she agreed, "If he activated the Trial, but kept hiding his true sin, then all we're going to get are these decoys and distractions! Or at least a real Trial monster that won't get damaged because it's not being faced fully! Like what happened when everyone attacked The Ashamed before Jazz was able to truly face down the shame and realize the truth of her feelings!"

"So Tucker's true lust isn't for technology..." Danny muttered and took to the air again, racing to join his techno-geek friend who continued taunting the fuming figure, "C'mon, guys! Let's go and get him to admit it so we can take out the Trial and get going again! We're burning Soulfire just wasting time!"

The ground began shaking again as the teens dashed over what remained of the mirror tiles to join Tucker and Danny. The Revengineer apparently had enough of whatever it was the technophile was saying and had summoned something up from below. More cracks spread across the floor, cracks that had been there from the _Incineration_ blast deepened into fissures and fissures that already existed split the earth apart. Dark storm clouds spun overhead as a capsule shot up from one of those opened fissures, a glowing green bullet that rose up over them all until it came to an abrupt stop and simply hovered there.

_"And now you shall witness the ultimate power of the ascended! I, the Revengineer, will crush you into nothing and ensure my rule over all technology remains unchallenged!"_ the armored figure declared, bright ectoplasmic power already gathering in his hands for an attack. He threw both fists down from an overhand swing, unleashing a massive blast of ectoplasm that hurtled down at Tucker, startling the boy out of another tirade of insults.

"Tucker! Head's up!" Danny shouted, zipping in and snatching him out of harm's way by the arms. Tucker yelped, cringing at the burst of light and debris that came from the blast hitting the ground. The shockwave was enough to blow the phantom off balance, and both boys tumbled to the floor and across it for several feet.

"Ow! Geez, he didn't have to blow a fuse over that last one!" Tucker complained, checking his pockets quickly for damage to his PDAs, "If that's my future, I don't want any part of it; the man doesn't even know to adjust the frequency of his audio system to filter out my voice if he doesn't want to listen to me!" He looked over at his friend as Danny picked himself up again and gave him an incredulous look. "You can't believe it either, huh? I don't blame ya; I don't remember a day when I acted like such a noob around technology. That's embarrassing, man. Just embarrassing." Tucker went on, seemingly oblivious to the glare now being given him by the halfa. He tapped at one PDA before deeming it fine and slipped it back in his pocket before standing up. "That guy really gets on my nerves, talking about himself like he's the greatest thing ever. Clearly has no people skills if he just surrounds himself with androids all day." the technophile groused on, looking around himself at the wreckage, "Though that would be cool at any time, I'd prefer it if... hey! Isn't that Caleb? **Our** Caleb, I mean, not the freaky one that was gonna kill us all?" Danny leaped up at those words, eyes wide.

"Wh-what?" he exclaimed and ran over to join his friend in looking down at the figure of the redhead lying on one side among the rubble. He took a step towards the teacher and had to jump back as a beam of green light swept between them, setting the rubble to burn as laughter filled the air.

_"Mortal fools! You unenlightened punks are about to be trashed and bashed by the all powerful Revengineer!" _the armored man declared arrogantly, _"Don't bother with trying to salvage anything from the remnants of that piece of ancient history! It's nothing in the wake of my technical power!"_ Tucker folded his arms over his chest, scowling.

"Not this again! Man, you're so lame, you're believing your own crap!" he snapped back in retaliation, "This 'piece of ancient history' completely trashed your over-hyped Caleb 2.0! You had no idea what you were doing when you were messing with magitechnology, did you? That's why you replaced it with ectotechnology!" He shook a fist at the hovering figure. "You hack! This whole Trial is a rip-off! I was supposed to get something about my love of technology and I get this big show about some wannabe Skulker in a whack suit with a _Wizard of Oz_ fetish!"

The Revengineer looked about ready to explode at that when the girls ran in from the side, attacking with their own little arsenal. Fed up with watching the 'boys' talk smack with no results, and fearing the time slipping away as the Soulfire dwindled, Sam, Jazz, and Valerie decided to take matters into their own hands. The Red Huntress's hoverboard launched a few dumbfire missiles that slammed into the armored man, disorienting him while Jazz fired bursts from the Light-enhanced Fenton Peeler and Sam took to hurling chunks of rock and rubble from wherever she could grab it from. Danny grabbed Tucker by the arm and yanked him out of the line of fire, lifting a hand to shoot off a couple of Ghost Rays into the cloud of smoke where the Revengineer last was seen just for good measure.

"Let's go, Tuck!" he growled, "We gotta check on Caleb, and you gotta 'fess up on your sin for real!"

"What sin? Since when is my love for technology a sin?" Tucker complained irritably as he found himself flown over the burning rubble and touching down at the teacher's side. Danny released him and folded his arms over his chest with a frown, an action Tucker mirrored as well. "Hey, if loving technology is a sin, then that's a hell I **don't** wanna be rescued from, okay?"

"But it **isn't** your sin!" Danny argued hotly, throwing his hands up in exasperation, "This is the Trial of your sin of lust! And its **not** about technology! Look at what that guy did to everything!" He waved his arms about wildly. "He stole Caleb's robots and ripped out the parts of them that were magitechnology to replace them with ectotechnology! He took the Caleb that existed here and _killed_ him to create his creepy Caleb 2.0! He even tried to destroy the **real** Caleb, the living, conscious, runs-around-with-a-soul Caleb!" The phantom pointed at the silent teacher with those last words, a stern expression on his face. "If **that** is the future you, and he tried to destroy Caleb like that, the greatest example of lost technology that could _possibly_ exist in the whole world... then your sin of lust **isn't** for technology." he growled, "It's for something else. Something you'd even sacrifice technology to have. **What** is it?"

Tucker only glared back at him, green eyes glittering against the bright flames of the burning wreckage.


	15. Chapter 15

15

Valerie winced as another handful of discs bounced off the Revengineer's breastplate with hardly a scratch left behind. Her supply was dwindling quickly, and her rifles and guns were all modified for use against mana-based creatures. This maniac's power was using something that seemed to be really resistant to her weapons. She half-wished Technus was back; he was easier to deal with, and things actually **worked** on the guy.

Sam lashed out with the Jack-o-Nine Tails, hanging on for dear life as it wound around the Revengineer's leg and the man flew around in circles, hoisting her into the air. She shut her eyes to keep from growing dizzy, yelling at the top of her lungs. It was her current great hope that Danny would miraculously get Tucker to confess his true sin of lust, or at least threaten his PDA with a Ghost Ray until he coughed up something close enough to let them face the real Trial.

"He's too powerful! How the heck are we supposed to fight this guy?" Valerie exclaimed in frustration, flitting by Jazz on her hoverboard to recheck her ammunition supply. The carrot-top sighed, looking over at the confrontation between Tucker and Danny not too far from them.

"The only way is to have Tucker face his sin." she returned darkly, "And as long as he doesn't do that, we'll be trapped here forever."

* * *

"C'mon, Tucker! You knew we'd all have to do this at some point after what Jazz went through and what Caleb said!" Danny pointed out irritably, floating near the angelic android still down and out from the last attack, "He said this Trial was about your lust, and it's **not** for technology!" Tucker remained silent, ignoring him in favor of kneeling by Caleb and poking at him, PDA in one hand as he alternated pokes with tapping at the little computer. The halfa scowled at him. What was Tucker's problem? If Jazz could confess the dark secret of the Fentons to help them get past her Trial, then why wouldn't Tucker do the same thing? Was his sin just as horrible as the one Jazz had been hiding? The thought made him worry for his friend; after all, secrets of that kind shouldn't be held in like that. What else were friends for but to help get over those kinds of things, right?

"Hey, Tucker." he began again, his tone more concerned now. The technophile grumbled under his breath, still prodding at the android. "We're friends, right? Friends talk to each other, share in everything good **and** bad." Danny went on, dropping altitude to stay close by the two of them, "So whatever it is that's eating at you to cause this Trial, you can tell **me** at least, right?" When he didn't get an immediate answer, he sighed, watching Tucker plug a cable into the PDA and hold the other end in his hand, peering at the silent teacher. "Y'know, Caleb already told us that he's not compatible with modern technology like your PDA." Danny pointed out with a smirk.

"There's no piece of tech in the world I can't hack." Tucker returned, grinning back at him, "If I can get Caleb up and running again, we can get him in the battle against that Revengineer noob." The halfa sighed again, shaking his head.

It was just like him; the latest in computer hardware, the newest software released, even the most advanced of ancient technologies, it was all a new challenge to Tucker. Another bit of code to crack just to prove he could do it. Danny supposed the thrill of it was like the rush of flying free was for him; a weird kind of power trip. He blew out a puff of air, letting it lift his bangs for a second before his brain paused and rewound that last thought. Power trip. Surround Tucker with all the tech in the world, and he'd go on a serious power trip, hacking into everything to see what he could pull off, what the limits were on each piece. And Tucker with any amount of power tended to backfire in a hardcore kind of way, cases in point being when Desiree gave him ghost powers for a while and when he was temporarily made Pharaoh of Amity Park.

Sam had her Gothness and knowledge of the paranormal and supernatural; Danny had his ghost powers and reputation as the Hero of Amity Park. Tucker only had his gadgets and technical know-how. Not much in the way of intimidating power there, not unless he had hordes of tech to back him up. Hordes... like Caleb's androids... like Caleb himself.

Danny froze in alarm, staring with wide-eyed realization as he watched Tucker try to plug the other end of his cable into the offline android. What if Tucker's lust wasn't for technology, but for what all that tech could give him? What if it was...?

"Power." he whispered, and Tucker looked up at him in mild confusion, "Your sin of lust is for power, isn't it?" The technophile blinked at him, then snorted incredulously.

"What the heck are you on? Technology **is** power, dude, and I got plenty of it!" he retorted and waved a hand at the Revengineer, who still flew around in circles with Sam sky-gliding behind him at the end of the Jack-o-Nine Tails, "It's **that** idiot over there that's on a serious trip, and he's got no clue what he's doing with his tech!" He went back to tapping at his PDA, unimpressed. "C'mon, Danny, you know me. Technology's my thing, like ghost powers are your thing and creepy junk is Sam's thing." he added and yelped when Danny ripped the cable out of the PDA, yanking it free from Caleb as well, "Hey!"

"That's the thing! I **do** know you!" the phantom growled softly, tossing the cable aside, "Technology **is** your power, but it's only as strong as the amount of tech you've got. So you're going to need more tech to get more power, and I know how you are with power. You always want more of it." Tucker glared up at him, clutching his PDA in both hands now. "So you get more; the latest tech, the newest computer, the best software out there. But it's not enough. It's nothing compared to Caleb, who is _living_ technology. Caleb, who is _alive_ and can jack himself directly into any computer in the world, a power I know you would **love** to have for yourself." Danny went on grimly, "And that lust festers and grows in you, until one day you surround yourself with all your tech and your knowledge of it and you just... take over. You become that Revengineer freak and you kill Caleb to take _his_ tech, _his_ power, and then you take all his androids, but it's not enough. Because Caleb said that no person alive today can work magitechnology without him, and you destroyed that.

"So you replace it with tech that's close enough, that you understand. Ectotechnology, tech that **my** parents came up with." Danny pointed out, wishing desperately now that he was wrong, that Tucker would stop him and tell him he was wrong, because this was starting to hurt and he wanted to just shut up but all Tucker did was stand up and watch him with that glare that didn't deny a single word. _'Tucker, please! Tell me I'm wrong! Prove to me that this isn't the truth! We're best friends; you can't have this kind of darkness in you! This sin is Vlad's, not yours! Not __**yours**__!'_ But he could only keep going, like someone else had control of his voice. "But ectotechnology needs ectoplasm to work, and Caleb's androids need mana to use all their powers. So you have to find a source of power... a source that has both..." Danny's voice began cracking, more of those hints and clues that he'd been picking up now fitting together, his gut twisting as Caleb's earlier comments began making sense, "A source you can get access to quickly and easily... with ectoplasm and mana all wrapped up... one that Caleb recognized right away... _Tucker..._"

"You." Tucker finished for him, his voice flat as he folded his arms over his chest, "To run these androids and gain access to their spells and skills, I would need ectoplasm and mana. And who better to drain that perfect blend of both than from you? Danny Phantom, source of the Ecto-Flame... no, the _Phantom_ Fire System, the energy that grows in strength as the years go by. The Revengineer's lust for power will sacrifice Caleb and you to get it. Caleb's death, your enslavement, that's what comes from power lusted over." He smiled suddenly, a twisted smirk that had Danny take a step back with a shiver, glowing green eyes wide and tearful. "Yeah, that's my sin. I lust for power, and I'll take it however I can get it."

The sky seemed to explode with brilliant light and Sam screamed out in horror, Valerie taking to the air on her hoverboard to rescue her. The figure of the Revengineer was awash in light, the glow burning away at the armor until it was a shining white with glowing green accents. Jazz lifted a hand to protect her eyes until the world settled back to a more bearable appearance, once again awash with the light of burning debris and churning storm clouds overhead.

At the sound of the Goth's cry, Danny spun around to look up at her, startled.

"Sam! Hang on! I'll-!" he blurted out and grunted softly as a hard blow from behind dropped him to the ground. Tucker stood behind him, dented Fenton Thermos in his hands as he watched his best friend crumple into a heap, the twin rings bursting into view and changing him back into the purely human Danny Fenton.

"I'd love to get my hands on as much power as I can handle." the techno-geek muttered under his breath, tossing the Thermos aside and glaring up at the revealed Trial, "But this thing showed me everything I would have to sacrifice to attain it, and there's something I've learned from Caleb about where true power lies. That power, I have it now, I've always had it, and that Trial... _doesn't_!" With that, he darted forward, whipping out his PDA and scrolling through the data he'd managed to pull from the Revengineer's computers before they had been wrecked.

* * *

"Yaaaaah! _Daaaaaanny!_" Sam yelled, "Get your butt up here and _heellllp_!" Her grip on the line was half her clutching the handle for dear life and half it being wrapped around her wrist for safety's sake. She briefly regretted having done that, then went back to screaming at the white-armored figure in a fury. It finally stopped circling and now hovered in place halfway between the ground and the strange green capsule that floated high over them all.

_"I am The Lustful, embodiment of the sin that resides in your heart."_ the figure seemed to croon down at the group of teens. Jazz blinked in surprise before realizing that Tucker had now joined them, sort of. He stood at some distance from her, tapping furiously at his PDA and looking up at the Trial periodically. _"Pitiful child, this cruel world is yours if you take the power that you deserve. Who needs weakness in the forms of friendship and kin, when you can use them to further your hunger for glory?"_

"Power?" Jazz whispered in surprise, "Tucker's lust was for power?" She looked around quickly, "Where's Danny? Shouldn't he be here too?"

"God, what is **with** these Trials and their need to blab on and on?" Sam growled as Valerie worked to cut her free of the Jack-o-Nine Tails.

"As long as it keeps him focused on Tucker and not us, I don't care what he talks about!" the huntress grumbled and sliced through the last of the cord, "There!" Sam dropped from air, yelling in alarm until Valerie swooped down and caught her on the hoverboard, "Okay, okay! I've got you! Geez, relax! You sure you think you're up to this kind of thing?"

"I've been at 'this kind of thing' long before you even **met** Danny Phantom." Sam snarled back at her, "I **was** gonna say 'thanks' but now I don't even feel like humoring you."

The Lustful lifted his hands over his head, spheres of glowing green ectoplasm gathering over his palms, pulsing in sync with the capsule floating over him. A few seconds passed, and he hurled both spheres down at the teens, the group scattering to avoid the explosions and the shrapnel and debris that kicked up from the impacts. Sam leaped down from the hoverboard, hands held up to defend herself against the rubble.

"Danny!" she called out and raced to get to Tucker, "Tucker! Where's Danny? He was supposed to be with you!" The technophile was crouched behind a fallen chunk of a wall, setting up a laptop and plugging the PDA into it.

"He's with Caleb. Over there." he returned curtly, jerking a thumb back towards the distant forms of both the mythology teacher and the raven-haired teen. Sam squinted at them, then looked back at him in shock.

"What happened to them? Caleb's down and Danny's not Phantom anymore!" she blurted out.

"Go find out. I'm busy dealing with the Trial." Tucker muttered, fingers flying over the keys as data began scrolling along the screen rapidly, "I knew it. No firewall, no security; he's so high on power, he decided no one would ever attack him where he's weakest."

Annoyed by his apparent lack of concern for their friends, Sam left Tucker to his own devices, running towards Caleb and Danny. The Lustful flew overhead, firing bursts of green that looked a great deal like the Ghost Ray at her, the impacts narrowly missing her as she dodged and weaved her way across the ground. Another near miss threw her the last few feet to the two figures, and Sam landed roughly just a few feet short of Danny's still form. Picking herself up, she ignored her cuts and injuries, crawling up to the boy and shaking him by the shoulder.

"Danny... Danny, get up!" the Goth whispered harshly, wincing at the sound of explosions as Valerie's missiles smashed into The Lustful, drawing his attention away from them for the time being. She glanced back, watching streams of light fire up at the Trial from Jazz's Fenton Peeler. A soft groan caught her attention and Sam turned back to the boy before her, relief coloring her face as she brushed back hair and dust from his face. "Danny! You're okay!"

"Ugh... _soooo_ beating Tucker into the dirt for that..." the halfa groaned, one eye cracking open to peer up at her, "Eh... Sam? What's... goin' on?"

"Tucker's doing something techie to deal with The Lustful." Sam returned with a suspicious look, "So you got him to confess his sin? What was it?"

"Power." Danny replied, sitting up quickly and cringing in pain, one hand flying back to grab at the back of his head, "Owowowow! What the heck did he hit me with? Gah! And what's he doing out there? How's he gonna face the Trial when it's using **my** power?" Sam gaped at him, completely lost by his words. Danny only shook his head, wincing again as he stood and held up his arms, "I'm goin' ghost!" A burst of light from the twin rings traveling over him and Danny Phantom was back in the game. "Never mind! C'mon! We have to help Tucker before he does something stupid that gets us all killed." he groused and twisted around a bit before spotting the teacher still lying on the ground, "Ah! Good afternoon, Caleb!"

"Welcome. Please state your business." Caleb returned, eyes opening and glowing brightly before he jerked and sat upright, a hand pressed to his head in surprise, "Wha-?" Danny pulled at his arm and the android looked up at him, confusion marring his face for a second before it vanished behind his usual impassive expression. "I take it the real Trial's been activated." he remarked.

"Yeah. Tucker's facing it right now." Danny returned, a faintly suspicious look on his face. _'He looked out of it for a second there, like he didn't know where he was or who I was. Did that last attack jolt something inside him or something?'_ "Turns out his sin is the lust for power, and it was so great he sacrificed the both of us to become the Revengineer." he added, floating back as the android got to his feet and brushed himself off, "So why'd you pass out after doing that black hole spell?"

"And what were you muttering during all that?" Sam chimed in, a similar suspicious glare on her face. Caleb shook his head.

"Not important. We still have a Trial to face." he returned and darted off, running straight for Jazz. Sam and Danny followed after him, the halfa turning to head into the fray with The Lustful and Valerie.

* * *

_"Power is everything. You need nothing else when you have power."_ The Lustful hissed as he knocked Valerie aside with an ectoplasm-powered kick. Danny swooped in and grabbed her by the arms, hoisting her back up despite her angry protests until she was safely on her board again. _"Power allowed me to ascend, to evolve beyond that of any mortal. This is the glory of our future!"_

Tucker ignored the armored figure that Danny and Valerie taunted with aerial attacks, his concentration solely on the data and schematics filling his laptop screen.

_"Protect this individual with life after death! Revive!"_ Caleb's voice called out, and Tucker glanced up to see the prongs of the Wonder Fork aimed at him from a distance, then down to see a fading light suffusing into his body. "That's the best I can do!" the teacher added sternly, "I've already cast it on Danny and Valerie!" Jazz and Sam stood by him, each firing or throwing rocks at The Lustful to aid in the distractions. So Caleb couldn't cast anymore spells? Tucker felt his curiosity perk up at that before he quelled it in favor of working on his current target.

The Lustful had power, lots of it, but Tucker had realized something after watching the armored man, discovered the huge weaknesses the Trial possessed when it gained all that power. The first weakness was discovered when Tucker hacked into the Revengineer's computer systems. It wasn't so much a hack as it was simply logging in with his usual password. Overconfidence in his power led to the Trial relying on his presence of power to cover him, and that meant there were no shields, no protections, nothing to defend his systems from intrusion. Tucker could just walk in with a simple virus or worm and bring the entire network crashing down in a matter of minutes.

In fact, he was staring at The Lustful's armor schematics right now; and like with Skulker, he could make contact with that armor and give it commands remotely. There was nothing The Lustful could do about it because that was part of his second weakness. The Lustful's quest for power and self-centered view on things led him to abandoning knowledge. He didn't know how to work magitechnology, and he didn't care that he didn't know because he used brute force, raw power, to simply rip it out and replace it with ectotechnology. That armor was probably the last thing he created before throwing away his knowledge to gorge himself on his power.

That was why he was waxing religious like that about himself. Tucker scowled in disdain as he typed in new commands. When knowledge was missing, weakened or just tossed aside, superstition and religion swooped in to take its place, filling the brain with useless crud to explain away things without actually having to explain it. Because both the Revengineer and The Lustful didn't know what the heck they were doing with their technology, they took that power for granted and began believing it all worked because they were god-like.

"Caleb died because you wanted to be a god." Tucker growled, standing up with the laptop in his hands. He walked away from his cover, glaring up at The Lustful that now had both Danny and Valerie in choke holds, arms outstretched and hands gripping both ghost hunters by their necks. "You wanted power, so you destroyed the Guardian Angel of Heroes and gave up knowledge!" the technophile shouted up at his Trial.

_"What use is an angel when an ascended wields far more power?"_ The Lustful returned scathingly.

"You lacked knowledge to hold that power, so you enslaved Danny to steal his power and bolster your own! And in doing that, you became overconfident, leaving yourself wide open to attack!" Tucker shot back angrily, "My friends rely on my knowledge of technology when it comes to fighting tech-based ghosts! That's a power that's mine only and makes me valuable to them in fighting ghosts!"

_"What use are 'friends' when they are fit only to feed your power? With technology, I wield **all** power!"_ The Lustful bellowed down at the techno-geek. Tucker only grinned, that same twisted smirk he had given Danny minutes ago.

"But without knowledge, power is nothing." he retaliated and hit the 'Enter' key, "And so are you!"

Immediately, The Lustful's armor began to spark and smoke, hands opening to release Danny and Valerie from their grip. The hoverboard flew in to catch the huntress, zipping to the safety of the ground; Caleb darted forward and leaped up, snatching Danny out of the air and darting back to Jazz and Sam. Overhead, the armored figure seemed to spasm, pieces of the suit popping off while the aura flared wildly. The green capsule high above them shuddered violently, then fell, smashing into the ground. Tucker continued glaring up at his Trial, watching the figure descend rapidly as he convulsed.

"Okay, so I admit I'd love to have power like yours, to have all kinds of cool technology under my command, but I don't want to be an **idiot** to have that!" he snapped, walking forward with the laptop cradled in one arm, his free hand playing over the keys like a rapid-fire pianist. "My knowledge of technology, that's my power, and if I want more of it, then I'll just have to gain more knowledge. That's what I learned from Caleb. He knows a lot, more than anyone could ever hope to learn, but all that knowledge gave him huge amounts of power." the teen went on, "I want that; I want to have power like that. To know all the little secrets of technology, all the codes and cheats and hacks and the ins and outs of anything electronic... that's where **real** power is hidden. And I'm going to learn it all one day. I'll study under anyone who has knowledge I don't, so I can attain it."

_"M-my... power...!"_ The Lustful gasped mechanically, reaching out to him with a trembling hand as the armor sparked and spasmed around him, _"Our... lust... for p-power!"_

"My name is Tucker Foley, techno-geek." Tucker told him crisply, "I want knowledge, not your crappy idea of power. I'm gonna be a computer programmer, and my knowledge will be my power." The Lustful's helm flickered, then vanished, a hologram that shut down to reveal the elder Tucker's head, a viciously furious expression on his face aimed right at the teen. Glittering bands of blue and green seemed to be grafted to his skin, also sparking as smoke curled around their edges, burning circuits and flesh alike. "No offense, but you're not really ascended. Just a noob with a fancy cyber-suit." Tucker added and pressed another key.

The Lustful shrieked in rage, engulfed in a blast of light that blinded nearly everyone in the area. When it finally faded and everyone could see again, nothing remained of Tucker's Trial. The teen himself stood in place, gazing down at his laptop with a serious expression before finally looking up at his friends.

"Sorry, guys. I just don't seem to ever learn my lesson when it comes to stuff like that, huh?" he remarked with a strained grin, "First Desiree, then Hotep-Ra, now this. Makes me wonder why you're even still friends with me." Danny gave him a more genuine smile from his place by Caleb and Jazz.

"Hey, we've all got our sins. We're friends because we like you for you, good and bad." he replied, "We look out for each other, remember? And anytime it looks like you're drifting off, we're there to pull you back."

"You're a geek, but you're **our** geek." Sam added with a dry grin, "And we save each other's butts when we need to; that's what friends are for, right?"

"So, we won, right?" Valerie asked, hand pressing carefully at her throat, "We beat The Lustful, right?" Caleb inspected the Wonder Fork carefully, having retrieved it from Jazz the first chance he got, then twirled it and slid it across his back again.

"Actually, Tucker beat it, but you all did very well working together to combat it. Especially in the stages leading up to the Revengineer becoming The Lustful." the android returned and looked up at the clouds, "Looks like things are calming down." The swirling storm had indeed calmed, the sky remained dark and thickly blanketed, but the threat of rain no longer hung over the group.

Jazz and Sam both tapped on Danny's shoulders to get his attention, then pointed at the fallen green capsule in unison, grim and silent. Tucker had noticed it as well, and had slipped his laptop away into his pack before heading off to investigate the thing. Caleb stayed behind, picking out a chunk of rubble to sit on and digging through his own pack for something. The teens spared him only a brief glance before trudging over to check out the capsule themselves.

* * *

It was large and wide, a cylinder that looked somewhat like it had once been an elevator and then had a mess of cables and tube looping through its top and bottom. Tucker had reached it before the rest of Team Phantom and studied the locking mechanism by its door carefully. He gave a soft grunt to acknowledge when Danny, Sam, Jazz and Valerie all joined him, then reached out to tap at the keys.

"It's an electronic lock." the technophile explained unnecessarily, "This is probably where The Lustful kept his power source." Danny inhaled sharply and Tucker nodded. "Yeah." he murmured, watching the lock's indicator turn green, the door opening with a hiss, "It wouldn't be fair to get rid of The Lustful and not set free the source of the Phantom Fire System."

Clouds of vapor rushed out of capsule through the opened door, a chill flowing out and wrapping around the teens as they all leaned forward to look inside, fearing what they would see.

An older Danny Phantom knelt within the chamber, belts and cables wrapped around him, even through him. On his chest, over his symbol, a round green lens glowed brightly, pulsing like a heartbeat in the center of a pair of belts crossing over his body. A ghostly Sam knelt by him, transparent arms holding him in a hug as her cheek rested on his shoulder. At the group's collective gasp of surprise and horror, both ghosts lifted their heads to look up at them, sad smiles on their faces. Tucker dropped to his knees, staring up at the pair of them with wide eyes, unaware of the tears now running down his face.

"What did he do...? What have I done...?" his whispered brokenly, "Danny... I'm sorry..."

_"You are not him. You have nothing to be sorry about."_ the ghostly Sam murmured and closed her glowing eyes, pressing her cheek to the bound Danny's own with the same little smile, _"I fought to set the Tucker of this world free, but I could not get through. Now I comfort Phantom while we wait to be free together."_

"You died fighting." Sam remarked dully, her hands tightening into fists as her own eyes began to water. She closed them when Danny placed a hand on her shoulder.

Tucker reached out with trembling fingers, tugging gently at the glowing leather straps holding the older Phantom in place, all the while the elder halfa just smiled at him. Tugging at one belt pulled at something more, and Tucker jerked his fingertips back to stare at the liquid green staining them, a horrified look on his face.

_"Don't worry about it. I'm okay."_ the older Danny whispered to him, _"The fact that you're here and he's not, that makes everything okay for me. I can leave with Sam now."_ Tucker looked up at him, startled before understanding what the halfa was implying and taking on a sorrowful and guilty expression. _"Hey, don't do that. I wanna see my best friend smiling before I go."_ the phantom told him with a smile, _"You figured out what your real power is, so I know everything will be okay. You still have your Sam and Danny, you still have your future unwritten, so smile and follow your heart's true calling. You said you want to know it all, right? Then start with knowing this."_ And his smile grew wider when Tucker gave him a puzzled look. _"We're friends, Tucker, always have been and always will be. No matter what happens, we've got your back, in spirit if nothing else."_

With that, both ghosts faded away, growing more and more transparent as the teens watched them, until finally there was nothing left of them but the lens. It clattered to the floor, dark and lifeless. For a moment, the group stood in silence, sniffling and crying softly at what they had just witnessed. Even Valerie had been moved, though she would later deny it, stating that no one could prove what her expression had been since she was still wearing her hood.

"If power like what he had hurts the people I care about like this, then I don't want it." Tucker finally growled softly, reaching out to collect the lens, "I'll keep this thing as a reminder of what that kind of power could do to me, to my friends, and to the world." A soft voice spoke just as he picked up the lens, filling the air with a solemn tone.

_"Dreams of the future are hazy and not always clear. Yet they shine bright when you seek your true calling."_ the voice intoned,_ "Follow the path your heart sets to a future of glory that is true to your self. The lust for power shall wane against your thirst for knowledge."_ It faded away as the capsule melted down in a cascade of light to reveal the teleporter, and the group left the shimmering disc, heading back to Caleb in a somber mood.

* * *

"Welcome back." Caleb remarked as he closed a panel over his chest and pulled his clothes back into place. He set his tools down and gave the teens his full attention, neutral expression on his face. "I see you've finished the Trial and gained your memento." he added softly. Tucker nodded, rubbing at his eyes with the heel of one hand as he gripped the lens in the other.

"He killed them both." he managed to growl without crying again. Danny gave his friend a worried look. "He got all that power and he killed the Sam and Danny that lived here just to get more and keep it!" Tucker glared at the teacher angrily, "That's **not** me! I refuse to let that be me! I let power go to my head twice, and everyone suffered because of it, but this time... this time I actually saw what happened! I saw Sam and Danny...!" He shook his head furiously, shoulders shaking as he fought back fresh tears. "I'm not letting it happen again!" he declared, "The next time I get any bit of power, I'm going to use it to help others! I'm going to use my knowledge and my heart!" Caleb reached out silently, grasping Tucker's wrist and pulling it forward to study the lens in his hand.

"Lens technology. This was probably created from Phantom's life energy. Was it lit when you spoke with him?" he asked, then closed his eyes, "No, don't answer that. I already know. I can sense the traces of ectomana on this." He opened his eyes again, giving the techno-geek a serious expression. "You are holding what remains of Danny Phantom's soul in your hand. This is a reminder, so that you will know who you will lose if you lust for power over knowledge." Tucker nodded and slipped the lens into his pants pocket, patting it almost as affectionately as his PDAs. "We'll take time to rest before moving to the next level. I had to do some internal repairs due to all the combat, so it will be some time before I can do any healing." the android added.

"I'll make something for us to eat." Jazz murmured, moving to check the food pack for rations. Valerie decided to join her, her own emotions still swirling about in confusion. She felt bad for the older Phantom, but she couldn't understand why she should. He was just a ghost, it wasn't like he had any real ties to Tucker and Sam, just a ghost... so why did it feel like her heart had been breaking to see him fade away like that, with that smile on his face, that kind and angelic smile? It looked almost loving, that smile.

"Why didn't you come with us to the capsule?" Danny asked of the teacher while Tucker walked off to help start up a cooking fire for the girls. An eyebrow hiked up at the android's barely suppressed shudder.

"I told you already. I had to make repairs. Besides, I knew everything would be safe and all you would find would be the memento. There was no reason for me to join you." Caleb returned evenly. The eyebrow came down, joining its brother in making a scowl on Danny's face.

_'Yeah, sure. And any day now Vlad's gonna get a cat and call him Mr. Fluffkins.'_ he muttered mentally, _'You **knew** I was gonna be in that capsule, probably not about Sam but you **knew **I'd be in there and in bad shape. Why didn't you want to see me? If you're the Guardian Angel, wouldn't you rush over to try and help me?'_

"I wonder if Tucker will keep his promise." Sam mused aloud, watching the techno-geek get back to playing around on his PDA after lighting the fire. Caleb reached into his pack and pulled out the Soul Stone's box, opening it to examine the size of the flames.

"Time will tell. He has the memento, and a powerful memory attached to it. He faced his Trial and won, but will it truly be a lasting victory? That's all up to him." he murmured and clapped the box closed, sliding it back into his satchel, "Go rest. Danny, you can use my blankets again. Set up, but..."

"Don't sleep yet. I know, I know." Danny sighed in exasperation, grabbing the blankets and floating off to help Valerie clear more debris aside to create a cleaner campsite.

* * *

Once everything had settled and the teens were sound asleep, Danny made his way to Caleb's side, dropping next to the teacher while he kept watch. Caleb made no motion to let the halfa know whether or not he knew he'd been coming, but Danny assumed that the lack of moving was sign enough that he knew. The redhead faced away from the group, gazing silently out at the expanse of ruined city and darkened sky.

"Hey." the halfa greeted quietly. Caleb gave a soft hum in response, arms wrapped around his folded up legs childishly, chin resting on his knees. Danny fiddled with his thumbs, looking around at everything but the teacher for a few minutes. "Soooo... about the capsule..."

"I knew." Caleb interrupted softly and the teen blinked at him, surprised that he would admit to it so suddenly, "I told you that I can monitor your ectomana from a distance. When I sensed it in the first Ecto-Flame sphere, I knew you were the power source. I felt it again when I got within range of the capsule." He closed his eyes but his expression remained as neutral as ever, "And I sensed it fading when you and the others went to the capsule to collect the memento. I had your ectomana registering twice, so I monitored both side by side. When the new entry began to weaken, I held onto it, so to speak. I prayed for safe travel, for peaceful passing, and then I felt it disappear, leaving only the original entry, _your_ ectomana, in my system."

Silence came again as Danny sat there, feeling faintly uncomfortable about the conversation, the tips of his ears burning.

"So... you knew the other me was dying." he murmured, "And you... prayed for him..." He thought it over, frowning slightly. "Why? We hardly know each other."

"You remind me of my friend. I felt it was right." Caleb returned and gave a little shrug, "Call it a..." He paused, blinking, then shook his head. "Never mind. It was nothing." he muttered flatly, "I tend to pray a lot. Side effect of the times I was created in." Danny gave him a strange look.

_'Was he about to say that it was a moment of weakness? But... perfect neutrality means he has no weakness. Doesn't it?'_ he wondered. "I've been meaning to ask. What is it that I have that you were looking for?" he asked aloud. He watched closely, hoping for some reaction to that. Danny got one in the way Caleb's eyes seemed to suddenly shine a bit brighter before dulling back to normal, back to that same neutral look.

"Nothing. I just said that so you wouldn't feel bad about leaving me behind." the android remarked, "One of those few ways I can work around those Heroic tendencies."

_'Liar.'_

"What if I were to turn back into Danny Fenton and hurl myself on that pike over there?" Danny remarked idly, pointing at a shaft of iron several feet away from them. Caleb shot him a glare.

"Don't even think about it."

"I could do it right now."

"Shut up."

"I could. I could. Watch me." He floated out of reach, turning insubstantial as Caleb grabbed at his arm. The android's face took on an alarmed expression and Danny felt a bit of guilt tainting his victory smirk. So the guy _could_ show some real emotion, but it took quite a bit of effort to make him drop his masks, and it was kinda bad that he was forcing it out of him like this.

"Don't you dare do anything stupid!" Caleb shouted at him angrily, jogging after the phantom flitting about in the air towards the pike, "That _Revive_ spell might have worn off by now and I haven't recharged enough to cast spells again!"

"I'm already half-dead! Can't be that bad to be a quarter-alive!" Danny teased, hovering over the iron spike. The android's expression shifted to one of fear, his hands held out to the halfa as though to try to talk down a suicidal nut. Danny could hear metal shifting rapidly, sporadic and weak bursts of red light shooting from Caleb's back. That guilty feeling gnawed at him again; he was trying to force his wings out even though he wasn't recharged, all to keep him from impaling himself.

"Get back here!" Caleb exclaimed, voice taking on a hint of panic now, "I'm telling you, I don't have enough mana running through my system to deal with you acting up! My relays still aren't fully repaired yet and the auxiliary isn't designed to-!"

"I can't hear _youuu~_!" Danny sang out tauntingly as he dropped a few inches abruptly. It was meant to spook the android, to startle him into revealing more emotions, more secrets, so that Danny could understand what the heck he was thinking. It was only a few inches, just a few, maybe four at most.

But apparently four inches was too much.

There was a burst of light where Caleb had been standing, then a blur of glowing white rushed up towards him. Danny shot up and away to escape the fast-moving mass of whatever-that-was, then halted to stare at a black-clad Caleb snapping the pike in half with some massive glowing red battle-axe that just appeared out of nowhere. The teacher spun with it, white wings spread as he dropped alongside the iron shaft, the swings of the blade whittling it down to nothing.

"What the heck?" Danny exclaimed and shot down to touch onto the ground, looking around himself to see if the chaos woke anyone else up. He looked back up at the teacher, who apparently decided that slicing up the iron into dumbbell bars wasn't punishment enough and was now slamming the axe down into the base of the pike, splitting it in two, four, eight... "Caleb! Cut it out! Good afternoon! Good morning! Good **anything**! _Snap out of it!_" the halfa shrieked in alarm. He held up his palms, forming a dome of ectoplasm around himself as a shield to avoid the splinters of metal from hitting him just as Caleb turned to look at him.

He supposed that triggered something else, since there was another burst of light and now the android floated before him with black wings and what looked like light armor colored white and pale blue. Arms stretched out towards him as a shimmering green staff floated before the angel, and a rush of words tumbled from his mouth.

_"Defend us from the blows of the enemy, Field Barrier! Protect this individual with life after death, Revive! Bar foulest magic from tainting this pure soul, Anti-Magic! Bar cruelest ailment from crippling...!"_Caleb recited spells rapidly for all of half a minute before his head jerked back, eyes wide. The staff dissolved into the air, revealing the Wonder Fork in its place, and the android's pose seemed to stiffen, then go slack, and Danny stared in shock as Caleb just dropped out of the air and hit the ground, wings flashing sporadically before finally shutting down, the metal components still unfolded and lying useless on his back, the giant fork landing nearby with a clatter. The phantom lowered his shield, ignoring the stacked auras of color resting on his body as he gaped at the teacher sprawled on the rubble, surrounded by pieces of the pike he had taunted him with only moments ago.

"Holy snaps..." Danny breathed, eyes wide, "I broke Caleb!"


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Updates will be DELAYED as internet access is very spotty in this region right now. So please have patience when it comes to future chapters of this story and all others in progress. Also, this is a 'setup' chapter, so bear with all the dialogue. Things will pick up as the gang travels further into the Book.

* * *

16

Danny huffed tiredly as he dragged the angelic android across the ground to the rock they had been sitting on just a few minutes ago. How did it all spiral out of control like this? He'd just been teasing the guy, trying to coerce him into opening up and giving him some idea of what he was thinking, what he was looking for. Next thing Danny knew, Caleb had turned a twenty-foot spike of iron into shredded wheat, shot off spells like an auctioneer on crack, then blew a fuse and hit the dirt faster than a colorblind bomb squad member on his first day.

"Oh man. I don't wanna have to explain **this** to Sam in the morning." Danny groaned to himself after propping the android against the rock. He scratched at his head, ruffling his own hair in the process. "Gee, that would go over well. 'Hey, Sam, here's breakfast. By the way, I hope you like the décor in this Book, cuz I sorta borked our only ticket outta here.' She'd find a working Thermos and lock me in it for a week!" He sighed and knelt by Caleb, balancing on the toes of his boots as he peered at the android's face.

He didn't exactly _look_ broken, or offline, or whatever he called it. Caleb's expression was that of a daze, eyes half-lidded and lacking that usual glimmer of awareness, a spark that was different from the shine that came up whenever he was powering on or running a scan or doing anything that reminded people he was a walking computer. Danny poked at him experimentally, then waved a hand in front of his face. No reaction. Maybe he needed coffee?

But wait. Caleb had said that his systems were still damaged; that was why his wings didn't work and why he couldn't cast many spells. Yet right after Danny spooked him with the pike, the android was moving faster than ever, wings and magic in perfect working order, and even working together! Didn't he say earlier, specifically, that his wings and his magic never worked at the same time because he didn't have enough mana to power them properly?

"What the heck happened?" the phantom asked aloud in confusion.

"You triggered the Over-Limit System when you put your life in danger." Caleb suddenly replied, soft and dull, as though he were half-asleep and just mumbling random things, "I acted to negate the threat, but internal damages to the mana fueling system was weakened further by the sudden shift to Avenger mode. The main relay was already offline, and the auxiliary was shorted out when I shifted from Avenger to Savior mode, as the system was not designed to directly move between the two modes and the energy demands were more than what the auxiliary relay could withstand."

Danny blinked, baffled by the answer for more reasons than one. Firstly, most of that was techno-babble he didn't quite get. He was a C-student for a reason. Secondly, Caleb actually answered him without the whole cryptic response, blank face, can't-tell-what-the-hell-he's-thinking look he usually gave. And thirdly... Caleb shorted himself out just to save Danny?

"Why do that for me? I have ghost powers; I can phase through walls. What the heck's a giant stick of metal gonna do to me?" Danny demanded, half-expecting the teacher to snap back to alertness, shut himself up and kick him towards bed.

"Your ectomana has a high percentage match with the mana signature of Wren. I must preserve that ectomana, and thus I must preserve your life." Caleb replied in that same soft voice, "The pike could cause fatal damage to you if you failed to turn insubstantial at the appropriate time."

Okaaaaay... So a busted Caleb is a truth-happy Caleb. This had some potential, yes, it did. Danny sat himself down by the teacher, scratching at his chin as he thought over all the questions he had that he could now ask to get the answers he wanted.

"What's an Over-Limit system?" he started off. He still had no clue what the heck that was, so may as well start with that.

"A battle tactic system that activates when certain requirements are met. My default Chosen Mode triggers when my personal damage reaches seventy percent. Avenger Mode triggers when my precious treasures are threatened. Savior Mode triggers when the lives of the faithful need protection." the angel returned, "Each mode must shift to Chosen as the default, or the strain of changing mana Elements will cause needless damage to my relays." Danny lifted an eyebrow. Okay, so that made a little more sense. Not.

"Precious treasures? Lives of the faithful? How the heck did I count as those things?" he asked incredulously.

"Lives of the faithful refer to those who follow a path set by Heroes. Precious treasures are the lives of those I care about, my dearest friends." Caleb replied easily, "Danny Phantom, life of the faithful, a follower of the path of a Hero. Danny Fenton, a precious treasure, one whose mana most closely resembles that of the Wonder Chef, Wren."

"You're weird." Danny muttered, plopping his cheeks onto his fists as he stared out at the ruined city, "Really weird. And I fight ghosts on a daily basis." Getting clear answers out of Caleb wasn't anywhere near as fun or interesting as he had initially thought. It was actually kind of creepy. "So what are you doing that's got you like this?"

"Recovery mode. I'm relegating processes to self-repair the auxiliary relay so that I can reboot at full capacity to finish repairs manually." Caleb replied softly, "As such, the processes used for normal conversation and interaction were suspended."

"So you can't help but tell the truth and answer without any psycho mumbo-jumbo?"

"In so many words, yes."

Danny leaned back against the rock, pondering over the possibilities. He could stop now and just rest, avoiding further icky answers and eventual therapy bills. Or, he could suck it up and keep going, and hopefully find out more about the angel that seemed to hide his emotions so much.

He found himself going back to gather up his bedding and bring it over to the rock, settling himself down into it and wrapping the blanket around himself as he got comfortable.

"What were you like, long ago? Before all this archiving and guarding Heroes stuff?" the phantom asked, choosing a question that would most likely give him a sort-of bedtime story without putting his brain through a blender.

"I was created as the replacement servant to Master Altessa after my sister, Tabatha, was used as the vessel for the current Spirit of Mana, Martel, who is also my sister. The internal structure of my body was crafted for an experimental artificial mage project, while my outer appearance was modeled after Zelos Wilder, the Chosen of Mana for Tethe'alla, when he was abducted by..." Caleb began softly, closing his eyes as though to save energy for the telling of the story.

Danny listened through a majority of the night, finding himself as fascinated by the tales of Caleb's early life as he had been with the Symphonian legends in the mythology textbook. The book was written like a story, but had that 'outside looking in' feel to it. Hearing about Symphonia from Caleb, from someone who actually lived during that time, somehow made it all the more real. He listened until the need for rest and Caleb's soft voice lulled him into sleep.

* * *

He was jolted awake in the morning by the sudden realization that he had fallen asleep with no one to keep him shielded from Valerie. Danny looked around, saw no one else was awake yet, then relaxed when he remembered that he had moved away from the campsite to stand watch with Caleb, then let the rest of that night come to the surface and make him wince instead. Was the android still FUBAR?

He wriggled free of the blankets, transformed back into his Phantom self, and peered up at Caleb's face to see if the lights were back on and someone ten-and-up was home. Nope, eyes still closed.

"Hey... It almost looks like he's sleeping too." Danny murmured in surprise. He prodded the android, then chuckled. Caleb really _did_ look kind of angelic, snoozing like that. Well, time to wake him up. "Good morning, Caleb!" the phantom remarked cheerfully before realizing that he might still be a bit busted.

"Welcome." Caleb mumbled, "Please state... your business..." The android blinked his eyes open, looking just like any sleepy kid in the morning as he took on a puzzled expression. "Oh... Danny... good morning." he added and sat up, rubbing his head, "What happened? I remember telling you to stay away from the pike, then the Over-Limit modes were activated..." He paused, a slight frown on his face. "Did I overtax my mana fueling system? I don't have any memory of what happened between the mode activations and my awakening just now." Caleb remarked in confusion before taking on a startled expression, "Wait... I fell **asleep**? _Here?_"

"You kinda... broke?" Danny admitted with a sheepish laugh, rubbing his head as he floated just out of reach, in case two plus two equaled four. Caleb blinked, then gave him a suspicious glare.

"You _broke_ me?" he growled.

"Erm... no?" the phantom returned uncertainly. The suspicious glare narrowed further and Danny's shoulders drooped. "Um... a little? Maybe?" Another glare. "Okay, so maybe I'm the reason you blew a fuse..."

"I **don't** have fuses!"

"...but you're the one who went on the rampage to keep my ectomana in one piece, or something like that!" Danny finished and yelped when the angel grabbed his ankle before he could go intangible.

"I did **not**! What in Martel's name are you talking about?" Caleb denied loudly, "What gave you that idea? If I did anything like that, it's only because you fall under the jurisdiction of being a Hero! _And I'm **supposed** to protect Heroes!_"

"What is with all the **yelling**?" Sam's voice snarled out suddenly, and both Caleb and Danny turned their heads to stare at the group of teens standing nearby. They all looked like they had been woken abruptly, and their collective disgruntled glares were aimed squarely at the two of them.

"He started it." Caleb suddenly remarked, pointing up at Danny, who gave him a shocked look.

_'Did he-? No way! He couldn't have!'_ he thought in disbelief before he couldn't take it anymore and burst into laughter.

"Oh God, it's too early to deal with this kind of crap." Valerie grumbled, already turning away to head back to the campsite.

"C'mon, Danny... I didn't get my required nightly serving of five meats in my dinner last night." Tucker sighed, "I'm going back to bed until someone gets me my meat."

"Save your bonding time for later. I am **not** a morning person." Sam growled before stomping off to get back to her bat-decorated sleeping bag.

"It's nice to see you're making adult friends, too, Danny, but could you do it more quietly? In a non-danger zone area?" Jazz remarked flatly, arms folded over her chest, "And with an adult that's **under** a billion years old?"

"Why does everyone keep saying I'm a billion?" Caleb muttered, letting Danny's leg go in favor of patting his own face, "I shouldn't look a day over thirty!" He scowled at hearing the phantom still snickering behind his back, then turned and walked back to the campsite, snagging him by the ankle as he went by. "Ha, ha. You're helping make breakfast for this." he grumbled, "I may not have any memory of what happened, but I have repair records! You pinged me for data!"

"Did not! I'm underage!"

* * *

Breakfast was eaten in relative peace, though Caleb tended to be unusually vocal in denying anything and everything the moment Danny opened his mouth. It was a little unnerving, considering Danny was trying to eat his own breakfast and the constant yells of 'That's not what I meant!' were starting to make the halfa twitchy.

"Relax! I get what you were saying!" Danny finally shouted in exasperation, eye twitching madly, "I asked for a review on Symphonia and that was it!" There was silence and Caleb tilted his head.

"Then why didn't you just read the book?" he asked and the halfa flew off with a shriek of frustration to finish his meal elsewhere.

The teens got some relief from the situation when Caleb headed away from the group to take cover behind some piles of rubble and finish his repairs. He made it a point to glare at Danny when explaining that he had to disable a few systems and open others to replace broken components, and wasn't all that eager to 'share' more than was necessary with the group. Danny only rolled his eyes, shaking his head at the words. With the teacher out of the way, the teens were left with time to haul out the textbooks and read them over to figure out what else they could learn about the Book of the Underworld and the Trials.

"Hey, it says here that Lloyd's friends also received items after defeating their Trials." Jazz remarked as she traced a finger down the text and images, "These mementos became something called the Derris Emblem, which was needed to get past the security in Welgaia, the city of angels on Derris... Kar-lan?"

"Kharlan." Danny corrected absently, flipping through the pages of his own copy of the textbook, "It was called Derris-Kharlan, and it was used as a base of operations for the angels of Cruxis." He looked up when he felt the stares making his skin crawl and blinked at his circle of friends, "What?"

"How would you know the way to say it?" Sam asked, lifting a finger in suspicion, "Does this have anything to do with that review you asked Caleb for?" Danny shrugged noncommittally and the Goth scowled at him. "Danny! We know that these books don't have all the information about Symphonia and most of the really sensitive stuff's probably all locked up in the real Archives; Caleb's the only guy who _knows_ this backwards and forwards." she argued in a low voice, so as to avoid being overheard by the aforementioned android, "So if you managed to get some info out of him, tell us too! We're all risking our **lives** here!" The others nodded their heads vigorously as Valerie glared at him, obviously ticked by the idea that he was holding out on them. Danny finally sighed, rubbing the back of his neck uncertainly.

"Tch. Yeah, I know. I know I should. It's just that... well..." he mumbled, averting his eyes from the teens. _'It's just that the stories he told me are about his personal life. There really isn't anything I know about this and I can't just blab about his own history. That just feels so wrong.'_ He searched his memory, sifting through the stories to see what he could find that would help the group without feeling like a heel for talking about Caleb's personal life.

"Anything about the Trials, or the mementos, the Soulfire, the Book, _anything_ about this trip would do." Jazz told him gently, "We want to know for sure what we're going up against because Nebilim's trying to break us psychologically with the Trials." She gestured around the ruins. "If we can understand how he thinks, we'll understand what we must face in ourselves and be able to beat the Trials much faster and more easily when they come."

"I still wanna know what he was talking about when he cast that black hole spell, and why he freaked when we first got here." Sam muttered, flipping through her book again. Tucker pulled out his PDA, tapping through the pages of data he'd gathered.

"That's something I might be able to help with. Remember those codes you gave me earlier? I downloaded the data they connected to into my PDA." he remarked in a too bright voice. Danny winced; obviously his friend was still badly shaken with how the The Lusted gained his power. "I might not know what made him get twitchy, but according to his dossier, that spell was created as a counter to _Incineration_ and is called _Forsaken_." Tucker went on, reading through the text quickly as it scrolled, "The mana requirements for it are pretty massive, if I'm reading this right. With all the damage Caleb picked up, and using up a lot of his power in flying around and beating the snot out of the other Caleb, plus the healing for Danny, supporting the rest of us... my guess is he was tallying the amount of mana he had left against the amount of damage he built up." He looked up at the rest of the group in consideration, "So when he passed out, what happened must have been that he burnt through one of his crystals using the spell to save us, and then shut down to switch to another crystal for power. Like he said would happen if one of his crystals broke. Maybe they break when he drains them dry?"

Danny opened his mouth as if to say something, then clapped it shut with an audible click, rubbing his neck again. No sense talking about the burnt out mana fueling system, or the weird modes Caleb went into that broke him even more. Danny still felt guilty, and a bit responsible -_'Okay, a __**lot**__ responsible.'_-, for **that** mishap.

"I guess... I can say why this place freaked out Caleb." he said slowly, still unsure of himself about things. With everyone's attention back on him again, the halfa picked his words carefully. "You know how everything's wrecked, right? Well, some of these buildings and the rubble are the wrong color. I mean, when was the last time you saw a purple apartment building in Amity Park?"

"**I** live across the bridge. Whatever it is you people did to that part of town, I'm not responsible for it." Valerie pointed out to the rest of Team Phantom in irritation. Danny lifted his hands for peace.

"Anyway!" he tried to regain his thoughts, "So Amity Park doesn't look quite like Amity Park. It **does** look like a place Caleb's seen before that he really didn't like. That's why he panicked a bit." The halfa twirled a finger around to encompass the area, "This place... it looks like the ruins of a castle he had been to once, back in the days of Symphonia." Sam stopped at one page in her book and held it up, tapping at the image there.

"This one? Vinhelm?" she asked, "The castle where Mithos Yggdrasill tried to take the Great Seed and the comet away from Symphonia?" Danny flinched and rubbed his neck again.

"Um... no? The, uh... the other castle." he mumbled. Sam gave him a puzzled expression as Valerie turned to the index of the book and traced out the words.

"Castle Whild? There were two castles in Derris-Kharlan?" she asked incredulously as she flipped to the proper page, "What the heck was Caleb doing at **that** castle?" Danny shrugged again.

"Stuff?" he answered vaguely. Sam reached the page as well and held it out for the group to look at. The painted image of a castle surrounded by ruined violet walls stared back up at them. It looked fairly similar to the first part of the demolished Amity Park the group had started at when they entered the level.

"Something about this castle freaked Caleb out, that's why he freaked when he saw the ruins here?" Valerie questioned in confusion, "But... that Yggdrasill guy lived in Vinhelm, right? Why would this castle be scarier than Vinhelm?" Sam traced the words with her fingertip again, reading aloud.

"'Behold the dread Castle Whild, wherein the Hero of Union, Zelos Wilder, was taken captive to be the vessel of his ancient father, Sérno Whild. The father of Lloyd, Kratos Aurion, was also held here, tormented for his role in the ruination of Sérno's beloved beauty and once virile body. Lloyd and his faithful companions, along with the Lady Seles, sister of Zelos, ventured into this vile domain to rescue their companions.'" the Goth read in her steady and clear tone, once again stunning the group with her storytelling, "'With them to aid in the battle against Sérno and his wicked betrothed was the newly crafted artificial doll, named Caleb, created by the dwarven smith Altessa for the purpose of becoming the vessel of Zelos...'

"'When the battle to recover Zelos's body began failing on the part of the Heroes of Union, Caleb enacted his plot through the Chosen to transfer the consciousness of the two men and restore Zelos to his true self. And it was that the battle resumed, with Caleb now in the grips of the vile angel, who raged at the defeat of his weapon...'"

"Ohhh! So that's why Caleb doesn't like that guy's castle and why he reacted to Amity Park like that!" Tucker exclaimed in surprise, "Wow. Vessel to an evil angel, huh? That sounds like it would suck worse than twelve hours of intense standardized test prep." He paused in consideration, then nodded. "Yeah. It would. It would kinda be like being possessed by another soul, right? Like when I was taken over by the ghostly energy that made me Pharaoh." Danny nodded, shook his head, then nodded again more slowly, then shook his head again, just as slowly.

"It was... different." he finally managed to say, rubbing his head as he tried to sort out the facts in his head, "What he told me... it started from when he was created... and that was way after Lloyd and his friends beat that Mithos Yggdrasill guy." He shut his eyes, straining his thoughts for a way to explain it properly. "Wouldn't it be in the book? I mean, the thing that Sérno guy did to Caleb... isn't it the same as what Mithos did to Colette?"

The group turned to look at Sam as she searched the pages again, a faintly disgruntled expression on her face.

"You people just like hearing me read this stuff." she muttered, her fingertips running along the words to skim for the part in question, "Let's see here. I think this part's the one we're looking for. '...Mithos Yggdrasill had the Chosen of Mana, Colette Brunel, entrapped in the strange device just below the Great Seed that held the soul of his sister, the Goddess Martel...'" Danny's head lifted suddenly, a sharp twang of something he couldn't describe just zipping through his thoughts.

"Wait. I thought Martel was **Caleb's** sister." he remarked abruptly, questioningly, and Sam paused her reading to look at him, puzzled.

"Did he say that?" she echoed and thought back before blinking in surprise, "Oh! Yeah, he mentioned his older sister a few times!" She snapped her fingers and closed the book, tapping at the swords emblazoned on its cover. "The Pin! Caleb said that the Eternal Sword Pin he wears was originally a gift from the King of Summon Spirits and his sister, Martel!"

"Let's see what else it says." Jazz remarked, picking up where Sam left off, "According to the textbook, Mithos wanted his sister Martel to be reborn, so he used Colette as a vessel for her consciousness. When Colette awoke, her soul had been replaced with Martel's soul, so her thoughts, her memories, her voice, her entire **self** was in Colette's body. But she left Colette's body after wishing for Mithos to return to his old, kind self again, which drove Mithos completely insane from the grief and feelings of rejection. Martel then returned to being trapped inside the Great Seed." Danny leaped up with a cry of surprise.

"I get it!" he exclaimed suddenly, "Caleb was a replacement servant; the first one was an android named Tabatha. She was taken over by Martel to become the Spirit of Mana. That's how Martel became Caleb's sister!"

"Yeah? And how do you know that?" Sam questioned flatly. The halfa winced.

"Um... the book said so?" he guessed hopefully. Valerie turned the pages several times and scowled.

"Says here that Lloyd met with Martel after the Great Seed sprouted and she told him that she had taken Tabatha for a body." she confirmed, "The souls of all the people who died in her name were absorbed into the Seed and became part of the new seedling, the Yggdrasill Tree, and apparently also became a part of Martel." She read a little further, then glared up at Danny. "Doesn't mention Martel being Caleb's sister here. So 'fess up, Spook! What made you say that junk earlier?" Danny hung his head as he floated back down to his seat.

_'Gah, me and my big mouth!'_ he berated himself. "Caleb told me about his past. I fell asleep after a while of listening to him, so I didn't get it all, but he told me for sure that Martel was his sister because she took his other 'sister' Tabatha for a vessel." He lifted a hand to press the heel against his forehead, feeling faintly sick with telling them what he had learned. It was kind of a private thing, something he had asked of Caleb while he was stuck in that recovery mode and he had yet to really tell the android what he had talked about. Would Caleb be mad that he got that information, or would it be all right? Danny already figured it wasn't really fair to tell his friends about it, but he'd already screwed up so there wasn't much he could do but ask forgiveness for it later.

"And?" Sam pressed. The phantom sighed harshly.

"And Caleb had been soulless at the time Sérno took control of him. That's probably the real reason why he panicked when he saw the city. It reminds him of the time he didn't have a soul and was forced to fight his friends." he replied quietly, "Of the time **before** he was alive, really alive. It was Martel who gave him a soul and finished making him alive. That Zelos guy did something to Caleb after the fight at Castle Whild, and it made him half-alive and half-not." He paused then, eyes wide at what he just said.

_'A half-breed, born into the world by mistake. They could be either the worst villains the world will ever see, or the greatest heroes the world will ever know. Caleb... you were just like me once! A halfa! Then you got a soul, became alive, and set off to be a Hero! ...So why are you so hurt? Did something happen? Something more than just your friend passing away?'_

"How can something be half-alive?" Valerie scoffed, closing the book in a huff, "And the Goddess Martel just hands him a soul? Why? What's the point of giving a machine a soul? Was she trying to make a God Caleb or something?"

"No." Danny growled softly, eyes squinting shut as he tried to make sense of everything. _'Gah! If only I stayed awake longer! There's something I'm missing, something big!'_ "She wanted him complete. He was too alive to be lifeless, like a machine, but not alive enough to be a real being. Something like that." He gripped his head in both hands. "Martel wanted him alive; Caleb had emotions and sentience before, but he didn't have a soul. Without a soul, he wasn't really alive."

"He was like Caleb 2.0?" Tucker questioned, clicking through the images he'd taken of the battles in the City Hall office. One image was of the two androids facing each other in the air, zoomed in, of course. "Creepy."

"No. That guy was worse. He's like... he was what Caleb was like before Zelos did whatever he did to make him aware." the halfa replied, "No emotion, faking it when it looked like an emotion was needed, following orders, coming up with plans that would give some desired result..." He waved a hand to get rid of the subject. "When he was half, he had emotions and awareness and ideas of his own. He could care and act on that. But, there was still something missing. That's why he needed the soul, why Martel gave him one." _'But why? What was missing? It almost sounded like Martel **knew** that Caleb was going to be needed somehow, but he had to have a soul to do... **something**. What was it that he could only do **with** a soul?'_

"Well, since Caleb is an android, he could have any soul he wanted put in him. No mana match required." Tucker remarked idly, reading through the data in his PDA. Danny jerked his head up again, confused. The rest of the group also looked to the techno-geek, puzzled by what he meant. "It's in the book and in the text I got from one of the codes. Remember that theory of reincarnation thing I was talking about, Jazz?" he pointed out, "According to the text, to transfer a consciousness, a soul, from one person to another, you have to make sure that they have a mana match. The higher the percent match between the mana of the people, the better the chance that the transfer is a success and that the soul maintains stability. Y'know, keeping all its memories and stuff."

"Since Caleb doesn't have his own mana, he could get any soul. So Martel just grabbed one at random and shoved it into him?" Sam huffed, folding her arms over her chest, "That doesn't sound very Goddess-like."

"Can we, like, stop talking about Caleb now?" Danny sighed, head hurting from all the information. _'Especially since he said my ectomana resembles his friend's mana a lot, and that is **really **creepy?'_

"Yeah, where is he anyway?" Jazz added in confusion, "Has he finished repairing himself enough so we can move to the next level?" A weight suddenly came to a rest on her shoulders and the teens all gave audible gulps in sync, staring just above her head with wide eyes. She cringed, dreading what she would see as she lifted her gaze to see what hovered over her head.

Caleb smiled down at her, hands resting on her shoulders. From Jazz's point of view, that smile looked almost predatory, a silent way of saying 'I heard everything and you're all gonna pay for that' or some such threat.

"Oh! Heh, heh. Hiiii, Caleb!" she remarked in a falsely cheerful tone, lifting a hand to wiggle her fingers in greeting, "Whu-we were just, uh, wondering where you went off to... and that's all!" She plastered on a large smile and Danny slapped a hand over his face. He hadn't been kidding when he said Jazz was an awful liar.

"Your vital signs are erratic." Caleb purred, tapping a finger on her shoulder to remind them all of his abilities, "But unlike _some_ people..." He shot Danny an annoyed look before pulling his hands away and lifting them in a careless shrug. "...I won't be prying into your chat. Teens have their secrets and all." He gestured towards his satchel and pack, evidence of repairs to the fabric on them. "If everyone is ready and all caught up in what the textbooks have to offer, let's move on to the next level."

The group scrambled to gather their things, thankful to have an excuse to get away from the redhead. Danny leaped into the air, ready to take off, but halted with a grimace at the stern expression on Caleb's face, the android pointing at the rock below him.

"You. Sit." he all but growled at the phantom, taking a seat opposite him as well. Danny dropped back into place, already sweating at the prospect of being thoroughly chewed out over what had happened.

"I'm really sorry for asking stuff of you during that whole recovery mode thing last night! I didn't know you would tell me the whole truth for each question until I asked if you were telling the truth, and then I just got curious and wanted to know how you were before you became this Guardian Angel and you started telling me your life story and...!" Danny babbled apologetically, gesturing wildly and stopping only when Caleb held out a hand and poked at his forehead. The teen blinked and rolled his eyes up to stare at the fingertip still pressed to his forehead. "Um... What are you doing?"

"Getting you to shut up." Caleb returned simply and sat back. He took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, then gave the boy a thoughtful look. "So how much did you learn?" he asked. Danny rubbed the back of his neck, searching his memory.

"I fell asleep after a while. The last thing I really remember was you, the Wonder Chef and some creature you called Peppermint Fireblossom going off on a trip to find more lost knowledge. It's kinda fuzzy." he replied uncertainly, "I remember a campfire, Peppermint eating all the fruit salad, and the Wonder Chef chasing her around a meadow."

"Ozette Ruins. Wren and I were going to see Martel and her mana beast companion Orator." Caleb murmured and sighed. Danny tilted his head in suspicion; that sigh sounded almost relieved. "Well, that's not too bad." he finally decided and gave the phantom a look that was meant to be a frown but kept twitching into a grin, "So what do you think? You heard a sizable chunk of my past, though I'd prefer to keep the rest under wraps. I'm going to be working harder to prevent falling into recovery mode around you."

"Sorry." Danny apologized again, rolling his eyes, "But it was kinda cool to hear your story." Caleb's smirk made him chuckle. "Could I hear more later?"

"Maybe. For now, apology accepted, please don't do it again, and get your things." the android returned, standing up to collect his packs, "Time to get moving." Danny floated up to follow alongside him as the teens began to regroup and walk to the teleporter.

"Can we also meet Peppermint once we finish off Nebilim and the Book?" Danny asked cheerfully, then blinked at the new 'mask' that suddenly slammed over Caleb's face. A chill shudder ran through him when the android turned his head to give him a strange look. Not angry, not defensive, not anything really, but the expression looked strangely... dead.

From the back, Sam gave Danny a worried look. She had the oddest feeling that something had gone wrong, but wasn't sure whether she should act on it.

"No." Caleb finally told him, in a voice that sounded so like Caleb 2.0 that Danny had the briefest fear that the wrong android had been destroyed. He half-expected something more, but Caleb only turned away to keep walking, still silent and now shielded so deeply in his perfect neutrality Danny couldn't even guess what he meant by that curt answer.

* * *

The glow of the teleporter faded away to leave the group of teens and their mythology teacher standing in a meadow of sorts. The earth was dry and sandy, a ghastly gray color that shifted into a dark forest of black trees and dry, brittle underbrush. Danny could have sworn that Sam's eyes glowed with her own brilliant light, an unholy glee painting her face as she gazed at the gloomy surroundings. The sky overhead was just as dark and stormy as the previous level, but no rain fell much to the relief of all standing there. He smirked, watching the Goth hold her arms out as if to hug the world, then glanced over at the android to see what his reaction would be.

Caleb didn't seem that fazed by the environment, arms folded over his chest as he looked distant, unfocused even, head tilted to one side.

"Where the heck are we **now**?" Valerie groused, lifting one of her smaller ecto guns for security as she peered out into the shadows of the forest, "I don't remember anything like this being around Amity Park." Jazz rubbed at her chin thoughtfully before bending to pluck at a wilted flower. She straightened, studying the dead plant carefully.

"This place is rather dark and depressing for a meadow in a forest." she muttered, "I wonder if everything here sprouted and grew before dying, or just sprouted dead. Zombie flowers?" Tucker laughed at the phrase, pointing at Sam as the Goth continued throwing her arms open in 'hugs' for the forest.

"Well, that means that this place is perfect for Sam!" he exclaimed brightly, "A Goth forest, just for her! I bet this also means that her Trial is here, too!" That stopped Sam's dark cheer abruptly, her head snapping around to stare at the technophile with wide eyes.

"What?" she asked hollowly, "_M-my_ Trial?" She blinked and coughed into a fist, clearing her throat before turning around to fully face her friends. "That's ridiculous! If this is the place where my Trial's gonna show, why is it a level fit for a Goth?" she demanded, throwing an arm out to gesture at the forest, "If Nebilim's trying to scare me with this rendition of gloom and doom, then he's obviously got no clue what it means to be Goth." She paused, then shot a scowl back at the forest, "Though it would have been nice if the forest was a bit greener. What kind of Underworld King can't even water his own forest properly? I should start a protest about this injustice towards foliage!"

Danny chuckled, floating forward to join the girl. Good ol' Sam, speaking her mind even in a place like the Gate of the Underworld. Even after seeing what had happened in Tucker's Trial, she was still going strong, unfazed by anything thrown at her by Nebilim.

"A spooky forest, a stormy sky..." Tucker muttered as the group began their trek through the woods. An owl hooted and he jumped slightly before glaring out at the darkness. "And creepy background noises. I'm not liking this more and more." he finished before turning to Caleb, "Please tell me this place gets better the further we go."

"You get mad when you think I'm lying about something, then you ask me for a lie." the android sighed in irritation, finally coming out of his silence, "Make up your minds!"

"Do we even know where we're going?" the technophile turned to Sam instead, not appeased by Caleb's lack of an answer. The Goth nodded and gestured downward.

"There's a path here, see? We're following that." she replied, "Obviously, Nebilim put it here for us to follow, so let's just go along with it for now, stay on our toes, and be prepared for anything." The rest of the group nodded in agreement and Caleb dug into his pack.

"And in light of those words... here." he remarked, tossing a dented Fenton Thermos towards Tucker, "Found it during the early part of my night watch. Try not to break it on anyone else's head, all right?" Tucker caught the device and blinked owlishly at him. "Don't give me that. I picked up your mana on this from contact, along with traces of Danny's ectomana. Add in the fact that the boy keeps putting his hand to the back of his head and any idiot can see what happened." the android sighed in annoyance. All heads turned to stare at Tucker while they processed that bit of information, then the stares turned to glares with the techno-geek laughing nervously.

"You hit me with a Fenton Thermos?" Danny grumbled, hand reaching back to rub his head again.

"You should have sucked him in it." Valerie muttered, "At least then I wouldn't have to _look_ at him every day we're stuck in here since I can't shoot him." And just to emphasize that, she did fire a shot at him, but the beam only passed through the half-ghost harmlessly, inciting a yelp of surprise from him and a collection of scowls aimed at her from the others.

"Valerie, I **just** finished getting away from my Trial, a Trial where I saw Danny and Sam..." Tucker growled, gesturing vaguely with one hand to avoid completing his sentence, then poked at the air before her as if jabbing at her directly, "So back off on Danny Phantom! I don't want to lose one of my friends in this stupid Book, not to a Trial, not to some random monster, not to Nebilim and **not. To. You.**" He shoved the damaged Thermos into his pack and stormed off, the group rearranging themselves to still travel together but giving Valerie a fairly sizable berth. Caleb slipped himself into the space, acting as a binding agent to prevent her from being completely pushed out.

They walked on with the huntress scowling furiously at no one, arms folded over herself. It wasn't fair in her thoughts, not fair at all. Why would they all choose to value the safety of a ghost over a **human**? Over _her_? She thought at least Tucker would have her back, he did before and she thought they had something going again. Maybe it was just a slight snarl. Yeah, that's all. He was still shaky after what had happened back there. Valerie gave a little shudder at the memory herself. That smile was just too haunting for her tastes.

Nearby, Sam looked around herself, taking in the sights. Her earlier giddiness was fading, becoming replaced with a strange sense of foreboding. The forest was dark, perfect for a Goth, but it was so thick. The path seemed to be the only way to traverse through it; everything to the sides was too dense with plant-life to allow them to move beyond the path. After a few minutes, they came across a giant bellflower, its black stem and leaves as thick as a flagpole and the gray-violet flower large enough to hide half her body if she stood under it.

Sam puzzled over it, circling the plant where it stood on the side of the path. She tested its leaves, peered up into the bell, and blinked at the sight of a wick of sorts peering back at her. Was this a torch for the Soulfire? There was a slight rustle and she glanced aside to see Caleb bending beside her, looking up at the thing with her.

"Oh, so they change to match the environments?" he murmured in surprise and twisted slightly to reach into his pack for the little silver box, "Martel knows he's just doing this to annoy me..." Sam watched him swipe a bit of the flame into his hand before lifting the Sorcerer's Ring to the wick. "You might want to step out of here, Sam. If it flares, I don't want you getting burned." he warned suddenly and she quickly scurried out of the bell. There was the sound of the ring firing, and the teens oohed in unison at seeing the flower glow a brilliant red color. Danny didn't share in that awe, immediately turning to growl at the white flames that appeared over him again, spreading further over his limbs. He waved his arms, kicked his legs and even slapped his hands against the earth, trying to put them out.

_'Every time! What the heck is going on? I should have asked Caleb about this when I had the chance, but it slipped my mind after everything that happened.'_ he berated himself. The flames finally faded and he brushed the dirt from his gloves as he stood back up.

"How much fire do we have now?" Sam questioned once Caleb emerged from the bellflower unharmed. Instead of plumes, the flowers glowed, so she supposed all future 'torches' would be safe to look into as well.

"We're about halfway there." the android replied and gave a little sigh, "But it still shrinks when we walk, and we haven't run into any monsters here yet. Without battles, we can't add to the fire. If this level doesn't give us something to fight soon, we may have to assume that this is entirely a Trial test of sorts." He looked worried for a second, then blinked and shot a look towards Danny, "Did you burn again?"

"Yeah. Bigger this time, too." the halfa muttered, walking towards them and giving Sam a puzzled expression, "You okay, Sam? You look a little... pale." The Goth blinked in surprise, then put a hand to her face, blushing slightly.

"I do?" she murmured, "I don't feel anything. I mean, beyond knowing this is probably going to be my Trial, I really don't feel sick or anything."

"Let Caleb run a scan. Maybe he can pick up something you can't?" Tucker suggested, looking over at the android. The teacher shrugged and reached out, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder and closing his eyes to focus on the incoming data. Jazz took the time during the break to look around herself more carefully.

It looked to her like the further they went into the forest, the more dense the forest became around them. The path also seemed to be narrowing. It began fairly wide, with enough room to let them travel in a somewhat loose-knit group. Then as they moved on, it began to shrink subtly, forcing them to cluster a bit more without them truly realizing it. Almost like they were being herded. Jazz frowned deeply at the thought of that.

"Well?" Sam asked after several minutes went by with no sign from the teacher. Caleb pulled his hand back and opened his eyes, gazing at the palm of his hand with a faint scowl.

"He's cheating again." he grumbled.

"Who is?" Valerie questioned in confusion and the android sighed, brushing back a few strands of hair from his face.

"Nebilim of course. He must have crafted a special enchantment over this level. I can't pick up Sam's mana so I can't get a reading on her." he replied in irritation, "I noticed it the moment we arrived here. Sam's mana suddenly dropped off my sensors even though she was right there in front of me. And still alive."

"Was that why you looked spaced out back there?" Danny asked of him. Caleb blinked in surprise before the mask of neutrality came over him again, the android looking away with a faint frown.

"Pretty much, yes. I was running a diagnostic to see if I had missed anything in my repairs. But all systems checked out fine." he returned, "So something else was interfering. Now I know for certain it's Nebilim's power." He paused, seeming to think something over as Danny frowned.

_'Something about that answer sounds fishy. If that was all he was doing, why'd he put up that wall again? That stupid perfect neutrality shield... I was **actually **getting an idea of who he really is under it, but every time something touches him wrong, that wall comes up again!'_

"I feel fine, guys!" Sam protested with a laugh, waving a hand in dismissal and pointed ahead on the path, "Let's get going, okay? Maybe we'll find a monster to beat up on for more Soulfire." She started walking off and the others joined her, reluctantly at first but that feeling soon wore off as they returned to being wary of their surroundings, listening to the sounds of the forest.

* * *

They walked for what felt like hours, the path growing more and more narrow as they went on. Soon the group found themselves walking in pairs and no monster came to attack them. The limbs of the trees stretched over them, twining into one another tightly and spreading their leaves to block out the sky, leaving the teens in almost complete darkness. They had flashlights and lanterns to hold back the shadows, and snacks were passed around when they got hungry. No one wanted to stop for too long, feeling too anxious to sit still.

Flowers were lit as they were found, and Danny began his own personal mission to ignore the flames that wrapped around him with each one, retreating into a shell of his own. He and Sam took the lead of their little nature walk, him for being the phantom with his own light and of course the leader of their self-named Team Phantom, and Sam for becoming invisible to Caleb's sensors, and looking more pale as time passed despite her insistence that she felt just fine.

Behind them were Tucker and Jazz, the rest of the team and acting as a wall of protection for Danny from Valerie, who brought up the rear with Caleb beside her. He'd been quiet since that first flower lighting, a puzzled frown on his face as he walked with the Wonder Fork in one hand, a lantern in the other. The huntress only seemed annoyed with the way things were set up, but she kept her gun in her hands and insisted it was just in case a monster showed up.

"How much further until we find something other than more dirt path and forest?" Tucker complained at last, "What kind of pre-Trial test is this?"

"It must be based on a sin, right?" Jazz pointed out, "And with the likelihood of this being Sam's Trial level, it should stand to reason that it was based on her sin." She gestured towards the Goth as everyone came to a stop to turn and listen to her. "So then all we have to do is learn what Sam's sin is and trigger the Trial." she finished.

"But we haven't found anything that has a carving on it." Sam pointed out, her voice a bit breathy, "We need to find that and touch it to see for sure whose Trial this is and what the sin is about." Danny gave her a concerned look, the lanterns and flashlights providing ample light for the cluster of teens. The Goth still looked pale, even in the orange and white glows of the lights around them; her eyes seemed dark, almost tired. She looked like a wilting flower, and the halfa felt a sharp pang of guilt at not noticing sooner, too wound up in his own thoughts and occasional mental vacancies to avoid thinking about the white fire.

"Sam, you look awful!" Tucker blurted out before Danny could say anything, "Maybe we should stop and rest, get something to eat. What if you're sick?" Sam only scowled slightly.

"I'm not sick! I told you that I feel fine!" she growled in that same winded voice just before dropping down to her knees and clutching her arms, a pained expression flashing across her face. Danny knelt by her in a rush with an alarmed cry, echoed by the other teens as they moved closer to her in concern. "I'm **fine**!"

"You're not fine, Sam! You barely look alive!" the phantom snapped worriedly and looked up at his friends, "Tucker, you start up a campfire. Grab some branches or whatever to do it. Jazz, you've got the first aid kits; see if there's anything in there that can help." He looked over at Valerie, uncertain at first, but she just rolled her eyes.

"I'll stand guard over here, thanks." she bit out and turned away from them to take up a position further down the way they came. She took a lantern with her, setting by her once she moved several feet away from them.

"Caleb, try scanning her again. There's got to be something we can do!" Danny finished his orders and the android knelt before the girl, everyone maneuvering around each other carefully due to the narrow path and suffocating forest. He watched as the teacher once again placed a hand on her shoulder, this time not closing his eyes to focus and the half-ghost watched with some awe at the bright green glow that took them over as he ran through the scans once more. After a minute, the glow faded and Caleb pulled his hand back, still scowling.

"Nothing. I can't pick her up." he growled softly, "My sensors keep telling me that, for all it can read of her, Sam Manson is dead to this world. She doesn't exist."

"But I'm right here!" she protested in a whisper, growing limp and now supported by Danny holding her up, "I'm right here! I'm alive! Your sensors **have** to be wrong!" The phantom looked distraught, hugging the Goth tightly before looking up at Caleb in fright.

"What's wrong with her? Help her!" he pleaded and the teacher sighed harshly before standing up, his grip on the fork tightening in frustration.

"Nebilim!" he shouted out at the air, startling Tucker and Jazz as they sat by the small fire they started, various bottles of medicines scattered around themselves as they searched for an appropriate remedy among them. Valerie turned her head slightly, puzzled by what was going on but still determined to maintain her watch. There didn't seem to be any answer and Caleb's expression darkened further. "Nebilim, I know you're watching! Answer me now!" he snapped and laughter surrounded the group of teens, startling them even more.

_"Only because that expression on your face is amusing, Fallen Angel."_ the booming voice of the King of the Underworld returned.

"What spell have you cast upon this level that hides Sam from my sensors and weakens her to a husk of her true self?" the android shot back, ignoring the nickname, "This is a violation of the laws of the Book; laws that even **you** must abide by if you wish to have the Gate unsealed and allow your release!"

_"I violated nothing. This plane feeds upon the sin that resides in the child's heart. That is the current rule."_ Nebilim returned sneeringly, sounding all too smug to their ears. Danny looked to Caleb for an explanation, the android tilting his head with a vaguely calculating look on his face before taking on a furious expression again.

"Then you admit that this level's Trial **is** for her! But she can't activate or combat it if she is being weakened by the level!" he snarled, "You cheated! By disabling the girl, you effectively trap us here, giving you free reign to break the seal!"

_"Did I?"_ the voice purred, chuckling malevolently. Sam shuddered and Danny held her tighter, as though just contact would be enough to pull her back to her old self again. _"I remember you to be far more clever than this in outwitting enchantments and traps. Has your soul finally begun to wither, or have you gained a weakness at last, a flaw in that eternal torment placed upon you by your own sister?"_

"Idle prattling of a mind lost to madness and futility is a bore to me." Caleb seethed, "The law still states you must give a clue as to how to cope with the environment!"

_"This plane feeds upon her sin. Her sin is what gives her strength. Removing the sin will weaken her. Feeding her sin will rejuvenate her."_

The group looked at one another in confusion. A riddle? **This** was their clue to help Sam? Jazz frowned, then rubbed her chin thoughtfully. It was definitely something psychology based. The tricky part was identifying what Sam's sin was so they could 'feed' it and get her to recover. There just seemed to be another flaw to that as well.

"If we do that... and if removing her sin weakens her..." she muttered and blinked rapidly in alarm. "Caleb!" she barked out, getting the android's attention, "Sam's strength is reliant on her sin! If we strengthen **her**, we'll increase the strength of her Trial too! We'll be putting ourselves at a disadvantage if we help Sam!" Caleb's startled expression seemed to amuse the Underworld King more, and his laughter rang through the forest again.

_"How charming! The human has understood this far more quickly than you, Fallen Angel. Perhaps you truly are weakening as well."_ Nebilim purred, voice fading away, _"Perhaps... well, I'll see confirmation in time. Tell me, Fallen Angel, whom between the two of us truly possesses a mind lost to madness and futility?"_

Caleb growled softly, glaring down at the earth as the teens gazed around themselves worriedly.

And in Danny's protective embrace, Sam shivered again, whimpering softly as she grew paler in the light of the little campfire.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Updates will be DELAYED as internet access is very spotty in this region right now. So please have patience when it comes to future chapters of this story and all others in progress.

* * *

17

The flames crackled and popped as the campfire cast its light over Team Phantom, the teens crowded as they sat close by and watched over their fallen member. Lying on Caleb's bedding, usually reserved for Danny's use since he hadn't thought to pack properly for the trip, Sam rested in silence, eyes closed and her breathing even and deep. Her skin was now porcelain white, almost ghostly some would say, but a glance at Danny had halted them from making that observation out loud. The boy sat closest to her, trembling as he clenched his hands together and hid his mouth behind them. Memories of the promise he'd made in the Fenton Works lab rushed back to Tucker and Jazz, and the two winced at it. Danny would not hesitate to make good on that vow if Sam couldn't be brought back to full health. Their eyes shifted to Caleb, the android watching both ghost and Goth from the corners of his eyes as he rolled slices of meat in leafy greens on a small wooden board he kept packed for mealtimes.

Just as they knew Danny would keep his vow of ending his life if any of them fell to the dangers of the Book, they also were aware that Caleb would make good on his own vow, to prevent Danny's destruction if he attempted any such thing.

Valerie kept her ground, watching them from a distance as she continued making sure no unhealthy surprises tried to sneak up on them from behind. She came to join them for a few minutes, mostly to catch up on what was happening, why they had decided not to move on, and then to collect a plate of cabbage rolls for herself. She had dressed herself in her Red Huntress gear sometime ago, and leaned back against one of the trees with her hood off, watching the shadows beyond her lantern's range as she ate.

"What kind of torment was Nebilim talking about?" Jazz suddenly asked when Caleb held out a plate of rolls to her. He seemed to freeze, eyes widening, before he chuckled softly and shook his head.

"I thought I told you all before. I exist like this eternally; watching my friends age and die while I remain forever young and living. That's my torment." he returned and went back to preparing another set of cabbage rolls, a signal that he wasn't going to be saying anything more about the Underworld King's words.

"Sam? Still with me?" Danny murmured, lowering his hands and leaning forward to watch for a response. The girl's eyelashes fluttered before her eyes opened, dark and unseeing, her mouth quirking into a faint grin.

"Yeah. I'm here." she replied in a whisper, "Just feel like I'm yelling through a tunnel at you guys. Can't move much either." The phantom grinned back, trying to look confident despite how he felt, stomach twisting and turning inside him.

"We found out what's wrong with you." he informed her and she laughed weakly.

"I heard. My sin's being drained, huh?" Sam murmured, "You'd think that would be a good thing, but I guess not. Not if it's tied to my strength. What kind of sin is that, to be the reason why I'm able to do anything?" Danny shook his head.

"You're strong without it. I know you are. You're the strongest person I know." he argued and lifted his hands, displaying the white gloves and glowing aura, "I mean, you're the reason I **have** ghost powers, why I still have them. Even when I was freaking out, you were standing strong and telling me how cool they were, how I shouldn't be ashamed of them." He dropped them to his sides with a sigh. "When I was scared back then, you were brave for both of us; you're that strong." he mumbled, "And now here we are, in a place we have no clue about, with all these things happening to us, and you're lying here like one of your little voodoo dolls..." Danny managed to hold back a sob, biting his lip before continuing. "And I'm scared out of my mind." he admitted, hanging his head in shame, "I'm freaking out all over again but you're just marching on like it's a walk in the park. No way can that kind of strength come from a sin!"

Sam didn't respond to that, just gazed up at the phantom curiously, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. He glanced back up at her, blushed as well, and opened his mouth to speak again, only to jump slightly in surprise when a plate touched his shoulder.

"Here. Keep up your strength. Both of you." Caleb told him, "Rolls on the left half are vegetarian, tofu-filled." Danny accepted the plate, picking out a tofu roll and holding it out for Sam to eat, smiling sheepishly at the scene he pictured in his mind, feeding rolls to the Goth as though she were an infant.

* * *

"Man. I'm starting to miss Port-a-Potties." Tucker sighed as the group walked on. After their rest and light meal, Danny had taken stock of everyone and their conditions, paired it with the knowledge he'd gained about the situation, then reluctantly declared that they would have to keep moving on. They had to find the carving to activate the Trial and find out what Sam's sin was; only then would they have a chance at finding out how to 'feed' that sin so her strength could be returned.

So now they walked down the path, Danny leading, Valerie guarding the rear and Caleb in the middle of the single-file line of teens, carrying Sam in bridal fashion.

"You're not answering the 'call of Nature' in **my** Nature." the Goth growled softly, eyes closing partway in annoyance even though she couldn't see Tucker at all.

"It's so suffocating!" Jazz sighed in complaint, "With the trees closing in like this and the shadows so thick around us, it's like we're drowning in darkness!" Sam's face flickered an odd expression before taking on that annoyed look again.

Danny sighed in agreement as he walked at the lead of the line. The darkness beyond the lanterns and flashlights was so deep it felt almost tangible, a heavy and cold thing that made his ghostly flesh crawl when he ventured beyond the bubble of light and warmth provided by the group. Just to test it for sure, he reached out his hand, stretched it past the glow of the lanterns so it dipped into the shadows.

It chilled him, a cold so frigid it burned his fingertips. And faint whispers of sound wound through his ears, making his back shiver and he jumped, jerking his hand back. What was that?

Behind him, Sam stiffened in Caleb's arms, her eyes gaining a bit of luster before darkening again.

"Are we there yet?" Tucker whined after a few more minutes and Valerie sighed harshly.

"Tucker, shut up! Just hold it in until we find a meadow or something!" the huntress snapped, "None of us like this any more than you do, so just suck it up!"

"Found anything, Danny?" Caleb called out, a vaguely exasperated look on his face, "I keep telling myself it can't get any worse, but I just keep getting proven wrong." The halfa pulled a hand over his face, feeling equally annoyed. Maybe it was the confined space they were forced into because of the forest and the path, but it seemed like everyone was getting waspish with one another.

"No, not yet!" he called back before halting in surprise, the light of the lanterns and flashlights playing off of something that stood in the path, "Wait! I see something!" He projected a sphere of ghostly light before one hand, the shimmering green illuminating the path as he flew ahead despite the startled cries of his friends. Was this what they had to find? Was this the way to discover Sam's sin and get her back to normal?

He halted just before the thing, staring up at it in awe. What he found was a massive iron door, a strange symbol engraved upon the metal. Tendrils of black mist leaked out through small gaps around the metal and its stone framework, curling around the door and on the ground before fading when they entered the sphere of light surrounding Danny. He peered at the door, suspicious of it, then blinked at the sound of his name being called, turning to watch the rest of the group run to catch up to him. The path had widened again, allowing them room to spread a little and get a good look at the massive gate blocking the way.

"What's this thing? The way to activate the Trial?" Valerie asked in confusion, walking up to the gate and patting the symbol. There was a collective shout and she jerked her hand back. "What? Sorry! Sheesh, it didn't even activate!" she grumbled, stepping back from the door. Jazz stepped forward and lifted her flashlight, playing the light over the gate to bring the symbol into view.

"Looks like another of those weird carvings." she confirmed grimly, "What does it say, Caleb?" The android gazed up at the etching for a few moments before frowning slightly.

"This is the angelic character for 'weakness'." he finally translated, "Therefore, Sam's Trial must be called The Weak." Danny jerked in surprise, turning to stare at him, then at the Goth in his arms.

"Sam's sin is weakness?" he questioned in shock, "But that can't be right! She's...!" He gestured wildly, looking for some word to fit the girl before finally throwing his hands up helplessly, "She's Sam!" Caleb lifted an eyebrow, unmoved by his attempt at a speech.

"So?" he questioned, "Everyone has weaknesses of one sort or another. She just manages hers well enough to appear to have none." The girl in his arms frowned slightly, closing her eyes again to further block them all out of her mind. Danny looked to her worriedly, then shot the android a scowl.

"Does that mean you really **do** have a weakness?" he retorted and Caleb matched his expression with a flat glare.

"Perfect neutrality. I'm an exception to the rule." he countered icily.

"Wait. That doesn't make any sense." Jazz mused aloud before Danny could speak again, peering up at the symbol with her hands on her hips, "Sam's sin is weakness? If the level is draining her sin away to weaken her, and that sin is weakness, then wouldn't that mean that her weakness was being drained to weaken her?" The teens all looked puzzled by that, turning to look up at the engraving.

"Yeah, how the hell is **that** supposed to work?" Valerie griped, "How does being weak make her strong? And how does taking that weakness take away her strength?"

"Ah." Sam mumbled, eyes fluttering open again, "I understand. That's why I stopped feeling anything like that." Caleb looked down at her, eyebrow still lifted. The Goth's expression flickered again, a faint frown on her face before sighing. "Take me to the symbol." she ordered breathlessly. Danny gave her a second worried look as he floated by the door, watching with the others while Caleb walked up to the massive iron gate. "Can you help me activate it?" she murmured.

"Um... okay..." Danny replied uncertainly, floating close to take her arm and press her hand against the carving. It glowed under the contact, and Sam smiled faintly as the now familiar voice began to speak.

_"The strength of your heart is a farce."_ the voice intoned severely, _"Emotions rule your heart, bringing levels of power that vary with each one. Yet the strongest you can be comes at the price of weakening your heart."_ The teens looked at one another in confusion again, baffled by the words. Sam only listened, the smile fading into a frown. _"The emotion you most deny having rules your heart completely. Will you reveal the emotion that gives you your strength?"_

Danny tilted his head curiously, concern warring with confusion in his mind. Was that how Sam's sin worked? Her strength was just a lie? But, all that they had been through... she was always charging ahead, rallying even him when he felt battered by the situation. She had a strong heart and a strong spirit! She was strong!

"Sam..." he murmured, unsure what to think of the voice's words.

"Sam, you can say no." Jazz told the girl sternly, "Now that we know what they want from you, we can help you change it. I can counsel you and steer away that sin you're carrying. You'll recover and we won't have to increase the strength of your Trial."

The Goth continued frowning before sighing again.

"Yes." she stated softly, almost too soft to be heard.

_"Then give tribute,"_ the voice began to chuckle, the iron gate beginning to open as a fierce wind blew over the team, the teens bracing themselves against it, _"with that which makes your heart **weak**!"_

The gate suddenly burst inward, the black mist swirling violently around beyond it like a living creature, tendrils lashing out as the wind howled in a fury, rushing into the darkness in a vacuum. Danny held his arms up to ward off the pieces of tree limb, leaves and dirt that blew over the group on the wind, bending to try to stay under the rush. It was a split second later that he realized the wind was actually lifting him from the ground.

"Hey!" he cried and tried to fly into the wind, struggling to get back to the rest of his team, "Jazz! Tucker, Sam! Caleb! Anyone! **Help!**" The teens looked up at him in alarm, Caleb's eyes widening in shock. The wind continued dragging him away from the rest of his friends, no matter how fast he flew against it. One of the tendrils of black mist lashed out, wrapping around his ankle, and the cold he had felt before when he touched fingers to the shadows beyond the lantern's glow was nothing compared to the freezing temperature of that tendril. He stiffened in shock, the whispers from before now wails in his ears, and he lifted his hands to clutch at his head, screaming as more tendrils wrapped around the ghost boy and dragged him beyond the gate.

In the span of a few seconds, Danny Phantom was gone. And Sam's color returned to her face and eyes, her strength restored in the same instant he had vanished.

* * *

A half hour had passed since Danny vanished, and the cloud of disbelief had yet to pass from them all. Jazz's eye twitched randomly as she knelt on the ground. Tucker sat to one side, clutching the Phantom lens in his hands like a rosary. Valerie couldn't stop giggling as she leaned back against a tree, a nervous, rapid giggling that shook her shoulders and sounded ghastly coming from behind her clenched teeth. Sam stood on her own two feet again, hands tightened into fists, eyes shut as she shuddered, trembling with the effort to contain her emotions. The wind died once Danny disappeared, leaving her and the rest of the group standing in dead calm air once again, the atmosphere heavy and nearly suffocating like before.

Caleb stood before the open gate, gazing into the darkness beyond with an expressionless face. He mouthed a few words in silence before turning back to join the Goth.

"I know. This is my fault." she bit out before he could say anything. Violet eyes met green in a tearful glare. "Nebilim took advantage of my sin to disable his two worst enemies, didn't he?" she went on spitefully, "Feeding Danny to my sin in order to restore my strength; that gets rid of Danny and takes him out." Caleb tilted his head, waiting for the rest and she narrowed her eyes at him. "And you developed some kind of bond with him, so losing Danny means you're not thinking clearly anymore, are you?" The android gazed at her for a long second before closing his eyes and nodding slowly.

"My judgment can't be fully trusted right now." he murmured in agreement, "All I can think about is how to get him back and verify his safety and condition." Caleb looked around at the rest of the teens with a faint frown. "Looks like you're in charge for now, Sam." he added, "Care to explain to us all why Danny is the reason your heart is weak and thus gives you strength?"

The teens all turned to look at her and Sam scowled, folding her arms over her chest.

"Not yet. Not until we find Danny." she returned and snatched up her pack, pulling it on as she began marching for the open gate, "If I reveal that now, I'll lose my strength again. So until we find him and get him back, that's still my dirty little secret." Jazz snapped back to attention and jumped to her feet, grabbing her bag and following after her.

"Wait! I'm coming too!" she called, quickly followed by Tucker and Valerie as they rushed through into the writhing mist. Caleb watched them run ahead before he took a deep breath, exhaled it slowly, then chuckled softly to himself.

"Been a while since I felt like this." he murmured, "I blame you, Wren, wherever you are now. Is it all right? That I want to grant him a name like yours?" He shrugged at the silence, then turned and ran after the teens as well, grinning.

* * *

The path was open, dark but wide enough to run down without tripping on anything. Sam led the group onward, huffing as she ignored the bitter cold of the misty tendrils that lashed at her at random intervals. It was almost as if the very shadows were trying to hold her back. Behind her, she could hear the voices of Jazz, Tucker and Valerie all calling out to her, crying for her to slow down, to wait and let them catch up. She relented, digging in her heels and jogging in place, impatient for them to join her.

"Danny! Danny, where are you?" the Goth called out, cupping her hand around her mouth, _"Daaaaanny!"_ Of course she got no response, which only added to the turmoil within her as her friends caught up to her. Growling, Sam gave them all a once-over to be sure they were all together, then dashed off again, her combat boots thudding against the earth in time to the many steps hurrying after her.

Her fault, her fault, this was all her fault. The words ran in her mind like a mental mantra, a chant meant to guilt her into running ever faster. The forest was spreading away from her, thinning out until all she could see around her was the black fog.

"Danny! Answer me! Let me know where you are!" she shouted again, slowing to a stop again. She bent over, her hands braced against her thighs as she panted, shivering each time a tendril of mist wafted over her. No answer. No matter how much she called his name, yelled for him to answer, his voice never came back to her.

Her nails scratched her purple stockings as she clenched her hands into fists again, drops of water staining them and the gray soil dark while her shoulders trembled. A sob escaped her, softly at first, then another and another, until she couldn't hold back her tears. This was her fault. Her weak heart did this. The emotion she refused to admit to that had been siphoned away from her to weaken her body... it surged back when Danny was snatched away from them all like that. This was her punishment for denying it for so long.

"Danny! I'm sorry..." Sam whispered, rubbing at her eyes as the rest of the group caught up to her again, gathering around her to see if she was all right.

* * *

Shivering in darkness, Danny curled up tighter, covering his ears with his hands in a lame attempt to block out the voices that surrounded him.

_"Is he dead? Oh my God, he is. He has to be. No, he can't be! Can't be. Just can't."_

_"He's going to die again. He got lucky the first time, but this time... No, no. Please, don't do that! That thing's not like you, Danny! It's going to hurt you, kill you! Stay away from it!"_

"Shut up, shut up!" Danny snapped, shaking his head furiously, hands still clamped over his ears, "That's not Sam! That's **not** Sam!"

_"He's going to leave me behind for her. I'm going to be all alone, I know it. Why can't he look at me? What's wrong with me? Do I have to change? If I do, will I lose who I am? The me I want to be? Do I have to sacrifice me to keep him?"_

_"Come back, please! Don't go! You're going to die in that thing, your mom said so! There's stuff I want to say, but..."_

The cold was painful, like ice that reached around him and held him in place. Danny pulled his hands down, charging up the Ghost Ray and firing them outwards, praying through chattering teeth that someone would see them, trace them back to him and get him the heck outta whatever was freezing him! This wasn't Sam, no matter how much like her it sounded; this wasn't his strong-willed Goth!

_"Oh, no, no. You can't do that."_ the voice told him, and Danny pried his eyes open to look around himself, trying to pin down the source of that voice in all the darkness and shadows, rubbing his hands over his arms now to try to generate heat for himself. There! A figure in the shadows floated there, drawing close to him. The outline, though faint, was familiar, and the phantom blinked hopefully.

"S-Sam?" he questioned, stammering from the cold. Black fingers reached out to the half-ghost, slender black hands cupped his cheeks tenderly, burning him with their arctic touch and halting his thoughts dead in the water.

_"You were going to leave me for her, weren't you?"_ the figure murmured, _"I can't let that happen. I have to keep you, so you can't leave. You have to stay."_

_"You **have** to stay."_

* * *

Sam clapped her hands to the sides of her head, crying louder as she trembled. Her stomach had suddenly lurched, skin burning cold all over. She pushed Jazz aside hurriedly, staggering away from them before she retched and graced the dead earth with the light lunch of tofu cabbage rolls she had eaten long ago. Tucker grimaced, lifting a hand to shield his eyes despite knowing the black mist pretty much swallowed up everything beyond five feet in front of them.

"Can you pick him up anywhere?" Jazz asked of the teacher, cringing as Sam finished being sick not too far from them. Caleb shook his head.

"Either he's too far away from us for me to sense, or something's shielding his ectomana and hiding him from me." he returned, digging into his pack and pulling out a canteen, pouring out a cup of water as Sam trudged back to them. He handed it to her, waiting patiently for her to rinse her mouth as he repacked the canteen. "Care to enlighten us?" he asked, taking back the cup when she was done.

"I had this sudden feeling that he's being lost to us." the Goth returned hoarsely, rubbing at her throat, "But he's nearby. I can... it's weird, but it's like I can feel him somehow." She laughed dryly. "Sort of like your mana sensor." she added, glancing up at the android.

"Perhaps. I find that a mutual bond can be more powerful than any sensor." he agreed.

"Then why can't you find Danny on your own?" Sam questioned suspiciously and Caleb smiled strangely.

"I said 'mutual'." he replied and headed off, looking around himself in continued search for the halfa. Jazz watched him walk on and turned to the other girl with a puzzled expression, arms folded over her chest.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, Sam, but doesn't the Trial show when the sin gets admitted?" she asked of the Goth. The raven-haired girl nodded and Jazz tapped at her cheek in thought. "And the Trial is the representation of that sin, right?" Another nod. "Well, if my thinking is correct, and I'm ninety-nine percent sure it is, then when Danny was 'fed' to your sin, shouldn't he have been taken to your Trial?" Sam's eyes widened in realization.

"Oh, of course! God, how stupid was I to run like a maniac for no reason?" she exclaimed, "If I admit my weakness, the Trial will appear and it'll bring Danny with it!" The other teens looked at her askance and Sam rolled her eyes. "I already said I'd do it, so it's not like I have a choice anymore now, do I?" she griped, tapping a foot impatiently until everyone gathered around her again. Caleb stood to one side, impassive expression on his face as he waited to hear what she had to say.

"This is gonna be rich." Valerie remarked with a grin, arms folding over her chest, "We're gonna hear what Goth Girl's sin is all about. What makes your heart weak when it comes to that rotten ghost?" Sam glared at her pointedly before taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"My sin is my weak heart." she began softly, eyes gazing downward as her hands clenched into fists, "I'm not as strong as I act, especially when it comes to Danny, both Dannys, Phantom and Fenton." Her cheeks colored, face burning as she sensed the full attention of all parties focused on her. "My emotions give me strength to act, to do things and say things I want to say. But most of all, the emotion that controls my heart so completely... is fear."

* * *

The dark figure gasped softly, hands lifting to her cheeks nervously.

* * *

"I'm always afraid that something could happen to Danny Phantom, that he could be hurt in a fight, even killed... destroyed, I mean." Sam went on quietly, glancing up to glare angrily at Valerie before dropping her gaze again, "I'm afraid that Danny Fenton will drift away from me, and I'll have to change myself to catch his attention. I'm afraid of losing who I am just to have him notice me. So I hide that fear by charging into the very things that scare me, by letting him do the very things that make me afraid."

* * *

_"Oh, oh! She's trying to take you from me!"_ the figure murmured, arms winding around Danny and holding him in place, oblivious to his pained hiss at the frigid contact.

* * *

"Fear is what makes my heart weak, and what makes me strong." Sam finished, glaring up at the group before her as the mist began to spin, a new wind rushing in to whisk it away, "That is my sin! My weakness is my strength, and my strength is fueled by my fear!"

A howl of anguish sounded and the darkness raced towards a single point, imploding as the group braced themselves against the rush once again. A blast of light caught their attentions, and they stood to stare at the figures that were revealed by Sam's admission.

The forest was gone, leaving a vast flat landscape, with two figures breaking the monotony. Team Phantom first noticed the halfa they had searched for, Danny struggling weakly against the black ice that held him in place, encasing him completely up to his shoulders. A black figure hugged him tightly, head turning to glare hatefully at the group.

"**That's** the Trial?" Valerie blurted out in shock, "What the heck did it do to the Ghost Kid?" Jazz held out the Fenton Peeler, letting the armor mold itself over her body as she glared back at the Trial.

"So that's the Trial." she growled, "I was right; it's holding Danny hostage!"

The Trial was a solid black figure that was a mirror image of Sam, red eyes the only feature on her body. She had a strange glint to her form, as though the girl was carved from a block of black ice herself. Was this The Weak?

Sam stomped forward, her dagger already in her hand as she growled angrily. Now that the Trial had revealed itself, Danny could be rescued and she could get her revenge on the thing that had snatched him away.

"All right! Everyone ready to attack that Trial?" she declared, "Caleb! Grab Danny when you get the chance! I don't want him in the way to get hit by any attacks!" The android nodded, wings spreading and lifting him into the air. The Trial's eyes narrowed further.

_"You're not taking him from me!"_ she screamed, turning away from the phantom to lift her hands above her head, _"I'll banish you all and keep him! He won't disappear on me ever again!"_

"Now!" Sam yelled, charging for the Trial monster. Caleb flew after her, banking aside to grab the half-ghost.

"Wait! Don't touch the ice!" Danny cried out in warning just as the android grabbed hold of one arm in an attempt to break the black ice and free him. Caleb blinked at him in confusion before a surprised expression replaced that look and the angel cried out in alarm, the ice shooting over his arms and down the rest of his body, locking him into place. The red mana wings sputtered before dying out, the teacher cringing as he struggled to get free. Danny sighed harshly, teeth still chattering from the cold himself. "I d-don't know wh-what her d-deal is, b-but she k-keeps insisting that I s-stay with her." he stammered.

"It's because of Sam's weakness." Caleb returned harshly, glaring at the ice that held him prisoner, "The Weak gains strength from the fear in Sam's heart, fear that comes from the idea of losing you. As long as you are in the Trial's clutches, her fear remains in place, and The Weak will continue to feed on it."

_"May the merciless embrace of frost take thee!"_ The Weak hissed, flying forward to meet the incoming surge of angry teenagers. She swept her hands down, palms open to face them. _"Absolute!"_ Caleb turned his head with a startled shout.

"Scatter! Don't let that hit you!" he yelled and resumed his struggles, "Dammit, I'm **not** a factor in **her** Trial! Why am **I** trapped?"

* * *

Sam rolled aside, gritting her teeth against the sharp chill of ice and wind that spun nearby. They had narrowly avoided the spell, but lost ground as The Weak flew through their broken ranks and spun around, lashing a hand downward and sending shards of black ice raining towards them like tiny spears. They scattered again to dodge the shards, Jazz griping at a small handful that hit part of her armored leg and stuck in place. She swept them off before returning to firing bursts of Light mana at the Trial.

Tucker and Valerie kept their distance as well, firing from the Lens gun and ecto rifle respectively. Only Sam had the honor, or disadvantage, of close combat with her mythril dagger. She raced in, The Weak rushing to meet her eagerly, and lashed at the black figure with the blade. The Trial jerked back, as though startled, and small chips of ice flew off her from the attack, a gash of white carved into her body from the hit. Sam grinned fiercely.

"Hah! Gotcha, witch!" she sneered, then matched the same startled expression with her own as she watched the gash heal itself, "Wh-what?"

_"I won't let you take him! He's mine! And when I give Lord Nebilim the Fallen Angel, I'll get to keep him forever!"_ the Trial screamed at her in a fury, sweeping her arm aside to slap the Goth away. Sam could hear Danny's voice cry out her name as she hit the ground roughly and dimly wondered why Caleb hadn't gotten him freed yet.

"Sam! Get up!" Jazz called out to her, "You have to face your sin! Face your fear of losing Danny!" Sam climbed to her feet, cringing in pain as she pressed a hand to her cheek. The skin burned from the cold, The Weak's touch frigid and hard like ice.

"What the heck...?" she growled under her breath, watching the Trial fly off to attack Tucker and Valerie, "I did damage, but she just recovered from it. What am I supposed to do to defeat her?"

* * *

"Huh. So that's why." Caleb remarked idly and turned back to face Danny, "We're both hostages."

"Wh-what?"

"Apparently, The Weak has a thing for you and Nebilim said she could keep you if she gave me to him."

_"Wh-what?"_

* * *

Valerie opened fire with her rifle, spraying the Trial with a barrage of Light-based beams. The Weak shook under the hits, chips and shards of ice flying from her body as she passed over them and spun around to glare at the huntress. The broken parts of her body regenerated, the white cracks and chips against the black ice of her figure disappearing. The huntress gaped at the Trial in astonishment.

"Oh, that is so not fair." she growled at last and opened fire again, "How the heck is she healing herself like that?"

Jazz raced by beneath her hoverboard, trying to get to Sam as the Goth tore after the Trial in renewed fury.

"Your sin, Sam! Face your fear first!" the carrot-top yelled, turning to fire her own blasts at the flying ice girl to keep her away from the Goth, "The two of you are connected right now! As long as you fear losing Danny, The Weak will continuing feeding from him and your fears!"

"Then tell Caleb to get him out of that giant ice cube!" Sam shot back, scrambling to her feet and running after the Trial as it touched down and skimmed across the earth, the creature's toes barely touching the ground as she zipped backwards to gain distance for another spell.

* * *

"I wonder how long it will take them to realize that I'm stuck here with you?" Caleb mused aloud. Danny glared at him, still shivering.

"H-how are y-you so c-c-calm about th-this?" he declared in exasperation and Caleb smiled cheerfully at him.

"I can't feel cold." he replied brightly, "You?" The phantom's eyes glowed bright yellow.

_"Wh-what do y-you th-**think**?"_

* * *

The Weak lifted a hand over her head again, chanting another spell before lashing it downward to point at Sam. _"Demonic swords, doom thy prey to everlasting pain! Bloody Lance!"_ she screamed.

Sam rolled forward, covering her head as blood red swords materialized above where she had been, smashing down into the earth and gouging out chunks of soil. The Goth scrambled back to her feet, head whipping around to stare at the attack she had just avoided. For being called The Weak, her Trial was plenty strong! Clenching her teeth, she spun around to glare at the floating ice girl, violet eyes meeting brilliant red ones in a silent challenge.

_'Just try to defeat me and take him away!'_

Sam lunged from her crouched position, dagger held rigidly to be driven into the other's chest for a finishing strike. The Trial flew back and away, avoiding her as she spun away from the Goth with an angry cry.

"Hold still and let me beat the crud out of you!" Sam snapped, chasing after The Weak.

_"Stay away from him! He belongs to me now!"_ the Trial shouted back. The Goth growled under her breath, glancing around herself to gain her bearings and see where everyone else was located. Valerie had picked up Tucker and the two were zooming after The Weak on her hoverboard, firing rapidly to keep her from having complete air superiority; Jazz was running towards Danny and Caleb... Sam blinked in surprise, mouth dropping open in shock. Both the phantom and the android were locked in black ice, facing one another though Caleb would occasionally turn his head to watch the battlefield as best he could.

"Oh, man, so he's frozen too?" she groaned softly, "That's why he hasn't been able to free Danny!"

So there was no way of cutting off The Weak's power by simply taking Danny away. She'd have to do as Jazz said and face her fear to take down the Trial. Only... did she have the strength to let go of what gave her that strength?

Sam swallowed hard as she slowed her steps, then stopped, gazing at the imprisoned half-ghost as her thoughts chased themselves around in her head, much the same as the way Tucker and Valerie chased the Trial over the land. How could she overcome her fear and banish it, without losing her strength or her dearest friend?

* * *

"Don't touch the ice." Caleb remarked as Jazz ran up to them, looking between the two in alarm. Danny continued glaring at him and Caleb gave him an innocent look, batting his eyes back at the boy.

"Is that what happened to you? You touched the ice?" Jazz asked the android before smacking the face plate in an attempt to slap her forehead, "Ugh, duh!" She turned to her brother instead. "Danny? How are you doing? Can't you turn intangible to get out of that ice?" she asked of him instead.

"N-no! D-do you th-think I h-haven't t-tried already?" Danny stammered back, shivering, "Wh-whatever this is, it's c-colder than my own ice!"

"It's magic ice. Of course you can't phase through it." Caleb told him brightly, "Ghost powers don't work on magic, remember?"

"Wh-why are you so h-happy about all th-this?" Danny snapped at him, annoyed to the point of being angry with the angelic android.

"I'm not, but it beats being bored out of my mind just standing here stuck to you." the redhead returned, still smiling cheerfully at Danny.

_"Jazz, get us out of this thing!"_ the phantom shrieked, without chattering for once.

* * *

"She moves fast." Tucker commented, aiming the Lens gun at The Weak and jerking his arm around to keep the sight on her. Valerie ducked under one such correction and glared back at him.

"Hey! Watch where you're pointing that thing!" she argued and peered through the sight of her own rifle, "But you're right; that Trial can _move_! How are we supposed to hit it now?"

"What's Sam doing?" the technophile questioned instead, blinking down at the Goth that now turned direction and ran towards them instead of The Weak.

"Valerie! Your Thermos! Give me your Thermos!" she called up at them. Tucker looked confused even as Valerie dug out the black and red device and hurled it down at the girl.

"Thermoses don't work on Trials." the boy muttered under his breath before turning to look at Valerie, "Do they?" The huntress only shrugged, just as baffled as he was about the Goth's actions.

Sam ran for the two encased in ice, the Thermos held tightly in one hand. Her fear was tied to losing Danny in any way, and The Weak mirrored her fear to gain strength. If she were to remove that which caused them both to fear, then they would both lose strength. Right?

_"No! He's mine! Get away from him!"_ The Weak screamed suddenly, flying after Sam in a fury. She lashed out wildly, hurling shards of black ice that the Goth dodged by weaving back and forth randomly. Sam tried to refocus on her problem, glad for the fact that Tucker and Valerie swooped in to fire on the Trial again, knocking her about and holding her back enough for the Goth to gain a larger lead.

She clenched her teeth, mind racing faster than her feet. But if she _did_ remove her fear, her own strength would drain away and she'd be helpless to defeat The Weak, trapping them all in her level. So how to get out of that? The voice at the symbol said that her emotions ruled her heart and granted her different kinds of strength. All she would have to do, logically, was trade one emotion for another, seek her strength from another emotion more powerful than her fear of losing Danny.

"I'm afraid of losing him. I'm afraid of someone taking him away from me." she chanted to herself as she drew closer to the trapped halfa, "But even if he never knows it, I can trust that he'll come back to me somehow." She pulled the lid from the Thermos as The Weak howled in fury behind her, knocking Tucker and Valerie aside before turning to catch up to her, gathering mana for another spell.

Sam had trusted Danny to do the right thing, to come back from each encounter because they were friends, they had a bond. No matter what happened, what life threw their way, that bond would be unbreakable and would be the guide to lead them back to each other. Even when it seemed severed, she trusted in its power. Her cheeks burned as she gripped the Thermos in her hands. She trusted in her friend... because she trusted her heart. She had faith in him, his power, and in her own. Fear of losing Danny was nothing against her faith that she would reunite with him; that's why she began her search immediately after losing him. Her sin of weakness through fear stole him away, but her true strength of faith and friendship would lead her right back to him. She knew, now, how to weaken The Weak without losing her own power.

"Danny! I know how to beat my sin!" she cried and both halfa and android turned their heads to stare at her in surprise. Sam smiled grimly, pointing the unaltered Thermos at the phantom. "I trade my fear... for **faith**!" she exclaimed as the light burst forth from the device, engulfing Danny as he cried out in shock and was drawn into the Thermos, the black ice useless to prevent the power of ectotechnology from capturing the half-ghost.

The Weak shrieked in agony, hands flying up to cover her face as she pulled up short of the Goth. Spiderweb cracks of white spread over her once flawless black ice body.

_"Noooo! He was mine! Why did you take him? He was mine, mine!"_ the Trial wailed, sinking to the earth and pounding her fists against the ground. The cracks in the ice grew wider, further. _"What do I do? What do I do without him? My strength! My power! I need him to be strong!"_ she continued wailing.

Sam tossed the Thermos lazily in one hand, frowning at the Trial that panicked before her. **This** was what her fear had been doing to her? Reducing her to a sniveling little girl that clung to one thing or person as a crutch, as an excuse to have strength to do anything? Where was her pride in standing on her own? In being independent, an individual?

"Danny can't always be with me." she muttered, "He's got his own things to do, his own weaknesses and strengths. I have faith that he'll come back around to me when things settle out. Until then, I'm paving my own way." The Goth smiled down at the Thermos, a faint blush on her cheeks. "I shouldn't fear anymore, not to the point where it totally takes over my heart and blinds me to what's important." she added, "And what's important is making sure I have my own strength, just in case Ghost Boy here needs me to back him up."

The Weak shrieked at her in rage, hands out to claw at her as she leaped from the ground to attack a final time. Sam gripped the Thermos in both hands and swung it with all her strength, smashing the device full on the Trial's head. In a blast of light, the black ice finally shattered, leaving a writhing cloud of white to drift on the wind, howling in a fury until it spread out thinly and vanished like vapor. The broken Thermos fell to the ground, splitting open and dumping Danny Phantom onto the ground, the boy rubbing his arms rapidly as he cringed in pain.

"What **is** it with Thermoses and me getting hurt?" he demanded of the Goth, "This just isn't my week for them, is it?" Sam shook her head, laughing.

Near the two teens, the black ice broke away from Caleb as well, allowing him to step out of the pile and dust himself off. Jazz chuckled under her breath and he gave her a puzzled look.

"Something funny?" he asked and the carrot-top shrugged, still smiling.

"Just interesting to see the two of you bond in such odd situations." she replied, gesturing towards the phantom as Sam reached out to grab Danny's hand and pull him to his feet, "You're actually opening up and letting someone in. And here I thought perfect neutrality would prevent that!"

"Actually," Caleb murmured somberly, gazing over at the two, watching as Tucker and Valerie flew in to join them, "that's exactly what perfect neutrality was supposed to do." He clicked his tongue in self-chiding, grimacing as he rubbed his head. "I'm being sabotaged, aren't I?" he growled and deliberately turned his back on Danny. Jazz sighed, shaking her head in dismay.

"That's an interesting trick. Switching the source of your inner strength so The Weak had nothing to feed on." Tucker remarked, watching Sam kneel down to study the fragments of black ice.

"But did you **have** to bust my Thermos doing it?" Valerie griped, folding her arms over her chest as she glared at the broken remnants of her Thermos, "Man, and just when I thought I finally had something that could deal with that spook."

"Well, breaking it wasn't my _first_ idea," Sam admitted with a grin, brushing aside the fragments, "but it's not bad for a bonus, huh?" She chuckled to herself before pausing at the sight of a particularly interesting shard of black ice. It looked like a small heart, almost perfectly whole save for a white crack that stood out from its location in the very core of the black ice. "What's this?" she murmured and picked up the cracked heart.

_"Emotions vary as does the strength of your heart. Though fear weakens your heart and grants you strength to flee, another emotion may take its place to weaken your heart and grant you strength to fight."_ the voice returned with a solemn tone, _"The weakness of your heart is an illusion, one to be dispelled when you accept this new weakness as strength."_ The voice faded as Sam stood with the black heart in her hand, a grin on her face as her friends gathered around her, congratulating her for her victory. Caleb remained silent, watching the ice that had trapped him and Danny melt down to reveal the teleporter.

"Let's set up camp and get a good night's sleep before moving on." Jazz pointed out and the teens agreed eagerly, moving to get a campfire started and unpacking for rest. Sam watched them go before turning to look over at the android suspiciously.

"So why no congratulations from you?" she asked dryly, "I beat the Trial without your help." Caleb raised an eyebrow, giving her an expression that seemed faintly incredulous, almost insulted.

"Why _should_ I congratulate you?" he asked in return, "You lied about the emotion you chose in place of fear." The Goth stared at him, startled by his words, and the android shook his head. "The weakness of your heart that gives you strength to fight; it's the same as the weakness of Danny's heart that allows him to fight for the sake of all people." he pointed out, "But most of all, for **your** sake." He shrugged at her red face, as if uncaring of the expression. "Ah well, what do I care? It's **your** Trial and **your** memento. Not mine." he sighed and walked away.

"That angel's _really_ getting on my nerves." Sam growled to herself, stomping after him to join the camp set-up and hoping her face wasn't as red as she believed it to be.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Updates will be DELAYED as internet access is very spotty in this region right now. So please have patience when it comes to future chapters of this story and all others in progress.

* * *

18

In the case of Jazz plunking herself down by him while he was chopping carrots, Danny found random bouts of insubstantiality a bonus for him; for instance, it let him keep his fingers intact. He lifted his hand as it solidified, just to make a show of examining it to be sure his fingers were, indeed, still attached to it, then gave his older sister a mild glare. She smiled back sheepishly, that same fake 'oh I'm just a bimbo' one she had given Caleb back during Team Phantom's little pow-wow over what info he may have been holding back. It didn't fool the android and it wasn't fooling the halfa.

"What is it, Jazz?" Danny muttered, going back to his task with a little more care and a little less hyper-focus. The carrot-top shifted beside him to make herself more comfortable and watched him work for a minute or so in silence.

"You're doing the cooking for tonight's dinner?" she finally asked, a safe question. Danny already had the idea that she was trying to gently worm her way into a touchier subject. Which one it was this time was beyond him at the moment; he had a **lot** of touchy subjects.

"Yeah. Caleb said for me to work on trying some new recipes, so he gave me some and his cooking set and then plunked himself over there." He gestured with the knife to the android lying on his own bedding -for once- some few feet away to his right, "He hasn't budged since then. I thought he was asleep at first, but he got mad when I tried replacing one of the ingredients in the recipe." Danny pointed at a paper pinned down by a few pebbles near the cutting board, then went back to chopping carrots. Jazz leaned over and peered at the sheet, mouthing out the list of ingredients and cooking preparations before furrowing her brows in confusion.

"Curry? He's making you cook _curry_? Danny, do you have any idea how to **_make_ **that?" she exclaimed in surprise, "An Indian dish; how does he expect a fourteen-year-old boy to cook curry and not screw it up?" The ghost boy rolled his eyes.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." he muttered sarcastically and finished with the carrots, tipping them into the kettle already positioned over the cooking fire, "Besides, it's not turning out bad so far. If I just follow the recipe, it should work out." Danny grinned suddenly, turning back to his sister. "Did you know that Caleb was the one who taught them curry to begin with? He just let them take the credit so he wouldn't be recorded in history." he pointed out and chuckled, picking through the little jars of spices to find the next ingredient, "Wonder what other historical events he had a part in... ah, here's the red satay!" Jazz folded her arms over her chest, frowning at the jar in Danny's hand.

"There's no spice called that in curry! There's not even a spice called that, **period**!" she exclaimed.

"There used to be!" Caleb suddenly called and Danny laughed at his sister's response of 'No one asked you!'

They lapsed into silence again, with Jazz watching her younger brother continue on working on the meal. She took in the whole scene, analyzing every movement, each little shift that he made consciously and not.

"Sam's not going to eat this. Curry is made with meat." she pointed out. Danny shrugged.

"Got it covered. I made some riceballs stuffed with bits of green pepper for her. See?" he replied and nodded his head towards the Goth. Sam reclined against several packs, the _Symphonian Culture_ textbook open and propped against her thigh as she absently plucked up another green-speckled riceball from her plate and bit into it. Jazz lifted an eyebrow at her studying the book again, then looked back at her brother.

"Since when do **you** cook Japanese food?" she questioned suspiciously and Danny waved another sheet of paper covered in neat and precise handwriting.

"Caleb's recipe."

"Valerie won't eat it either. She's not gonna touch anything you made." Jazz added quietly, "In her mind, you're still the enemy and not trustworthy." Her brother shrugged again, but slower, more uncertain.

"Caleb said not to worry about it, just think positive while I cook." he replied and sighed in the middle of his stirring the kettle of curry, "What are you getting at, Jazz?" She winced and laughed nervously.

"Heh heh... That obvious to you, huh?" she asked bashfully and rubbed the back of her neck in mimicry of her brother's habit, "I've been watching you and Caleb since the Trial ended. He... hasn't been talking to you, has he? I mean, he's acting like he's trying to ignore you. You were the one who asked him to teach you the recipes, not the other way around. I noticed that you had to follow him around until you got those recipes from him." She watched her brother tense slightly and she carefully moved herself to project a calm and comforting presence towards him. "You also picked a recipe that puts you closer to the cooking fire. You're trying to stay warm after being trapped by The Weak. That much is obvious." she added and glanced at her brother for his reaction. He pouted at her, then finally nodded, admitting that much for her. "But why the sudden distance from Caleb? I thought he was opening up to you." Jazz wondered aloud, "I told him as much and he closed up on me pretty tightly."

"That stupid perfect neutrality bull again." Danny grumbled under his breath, "I get him talking, being more like his old self, but I slip up just once in something, a name, a place, an action, anything! ...And he slams the door in my face." He gestured with his hands before him, moving as though he were crumbling up a large wad of paper, an action that had only a mild effect at relieving his frustration. With a sigh, he dropped his hands to his lap, gazing down at them with a wounded puppy expression on his face. "He hasn't said a word to me since the last level that wasn't about the Trials or Soulfire or these recipes." the halfa murmured, "And all he did when we were both stuck in the ice was just say stuff that annoyed me, like he was doing it on purpose."

"Well, something must have hurt him pretty badly if he's suddenly trying to push you away from him." Jazz pointed out and sat back, pulling out a notepad and pen from her purse, "So, tell me. What happened in the last level that started all this?" Danny stared at her incredulously. She lifted an eyebrow, matching his look with one of her own. "Oh, come on! Did you _really_ think I wasn't going to try psycho-analyzing him through you?"

"The hope had crossed my mind." Danny returned dryly, returning to keeping the curry in check, "Jazz, what makes you think you can figure **him** out by talking to **me**?"

"Because he reacts to you more than to any of us, Danny!" she told him sharply, "He responds to what you say and do more closely, he opens to you more than he does to us, he shares information with you that isn't in the books! Even if you don't realize it or share it, he's bonded himself to **you**, not us!" The halfa scowled at her.

"You're creeping me out. Quit it." he replied and sampled the curry before squeezing his eyes shut at the taste, a bright flush growing over his face as he broke out in a sweat, "Good God, this is spicy! _Hooooot!_ Geez, I can feel it even as a ghost!" He fanned at his tongue as Jazz snickered behind her hands.

"Serves you right!" she scolded playfully, "Help your big sister dissect the thinking processes of a billion-year-old android!" And again the aforementioned android called out in annoyance, 'I'm **not** a billion, for Martel's sake!' Jazz rolled her eyes before cupping a hand by her mouth to answer again. "Not relevant~!" Caleb shot her a glare of his own before rolling over to turn his back on them, curling up in a semblance of a kid put to bed early for being naughty. She smiled proudly, then turned back to her brother. "So? What happened?" she asked again. Danny sighed harshly.

"I don't remember." he lied and rapped a wooden spoon against the kettle, cutting off any more possibilities for conversation, "Dinner's ready!"

* * *

Valerie glared into her bowl of curry as the others in the circle with her ate dinner eagerly. The ghost boy had made this. She knew it for a fact; she had sat there with her book in her lap and watched him put the meal together. Jazz had gone to sit by him and they had a little conversation -she wasn't able to make out what they were talking about from this distance- but there hadn't been any obvious attempts at sabotage. The older girl had looked over the paper the ghost boy had been using as a recipe card, peered at some of the ingredients he was putting in, and hadn't sent up an alert of any kind. In fact, she had been giggling when the ghost had eaten a sample of the curry and flushed red, sticking out his tongue and fanning it frantically.

Well, if he had eaten it, then it was at least safe for ghostly consumption. And Tucker was digging into it like it was some divine meal, so it must be safe for human consumption. Jazz and the ghost kid both ate at a less ravenous pace. She looked back down at her bowl again. Should she or shouldn't she? Caleb wasn't helping, still curled up on his bed and ignoring them all.

Screw it for now. She was hungry and the curry smelled and looked too good to ignore much longer. If she died from it, she'd come back as a ghost herself and kick the ghost boy's butt on his turf, just to make it clear how much she hated him. With a decisive nod to that plan, Valerie picked up a spoon and took to eating the curry. She was startled first by the spicy flavor -holy crap, this could melt her brains!- before the taste of it really hit her.

"The Spook made this?" she exclaimed before she could stop herself, and the other teens paused in their meals to stare at her.

"Uh, yeah? You were staring at me the whole time I was making it." the Ghost Kid retorted with a mild glare at her, "And for the last time, it's _Danny Phantom_! Geez, how hard is it to remember a guy's **name**?" Valerie scowled back, then returned to eating in silence. Something was up with that recipe, that was for certain; the curry tasted way too good to have been made by a ghost boy. Heck, she was sure a regular kid could make it and it would come out just as awesome. It had to be the recipe, no way could Phantom there be this great a cook.

* * *

Spending the night was a bit awkward. Not only did the nearby teleporter act like some spooky night-light, but Caleb refused to give up his bedding for the night. It had become routine for him to hand over his blankets for Danny to use, but this time he stayed curled up on them. A tentative request for them by the halfa resulted in Caleb turning his head to give him a flat glare.

Danny retreated after several minutes of silence passed and the expression didn't change.

"What the heck did you do to tick him off?" Sam asked of him as she rolled out her sleeping bag. Danny floated nearby in a lotus position, hovering over the ground as he propped his chin on one hand, frustrated expression painting his face.

"I asked him one little question and he started biting my head off with one syllable words." he grumbled in response, "Geez, touchy, touchy." He glanced over at her, watching the Goth fluff her pack in attempt to make it more like a pillow. "So what were you reading about in the book?"

"Vinhelm. Did you know that the first Soul Stone was found in Mithos's castle?" she replied with a grin, "Before he went all lo-co, split the world in two and started his whole 'holy massacre of the people' thing, Mithos had been a legendary hero who also traveled through a Book of the Underworld to give Nebilim a beat down."

"That's so weird. How did someone like Mithos go from peace-searching hero to maniac super-villain?" Danny mused, "It's kind of extreme, don't you think?"

"The book said it was because his sister was killed by humans right in front of him. He was really attached to her, so seeing that made him snap." Sam returned and held the book out to him, already opened to the proper page. "He spent four thousand years trying to perfect a new body for his sister's soul just so he could bring her back to life. That was the role of the Chosens; they were bred to have mana closely matching Martel's so she would be stable in her new body. All those people being killed? They were fodder to create these little rocks that made humans into lifeless beings, and Chosens into angels that would be vessels for Martel."

"Um, ew?" Danny remarked, looking over the images on the page, "That's just messed up." He tilted his head. "So, what happened to him? Lloyd fixed all the junk Mithos did, right? So where did Mithos go?" Sam turned the book back to herself, flipping though the pages again.

"According to the text, Mithos died in the final battle. Or at least, his body was completely destroyed. The rock that made him an angel, it's called a Cruxis Crystal, and it had his soul trapped in it. If it was put onto a body with a similar mana match, he'd be revived through that person." she replied, "But he projected himself out of the stone and told Lloyd that he was tired of living; between all the fighting and the opposing ideals of what was good and what was evil, and his sister choosing to go back to the Great Seed to keep it alive, he was just sick of it." Her fingers stopped at one page, splayed over the words as she paused, a faint air of sadness around her. "So he asked Lloyd to destroy the Crystal, to end his life once and for all, and free his soul from the stone." Sam murmured. Danny tilted his head the other way, gazing somberly down at his friend.

"Do you think he wound up as part of the Spirit of Mana, since he died in a fight over the Great Seed?" he finally asked. Sam blinked and peered down at the text before her.

"It doesn't say." she finally returned, a suspicious tone to her voice, "And there's no code attached to it. You don't just have a soul that belonged to such a powerful person disappear into history. That's something you keep track of, keep a record of, so the little nutjob doesn't somehow come back and start screwing things over." Danny laughed nervously.

"Hey, I thought you felt a _little_ sorry for the guy!" he remarked with forced cheer, "I mean, even though he did all that stuff to the planet and those people, wasn't he sorry for it all in the end? I mean, he asked for his Crystal to be destroyed, so he had to have been sorry, right?"

"Nope. Says here that he didn't regret anything he did, and that if he had the chance, he'd do the same thing all over again. Supposing his soul **did** get sucked up by the Great Seed and became part of Martel, what are the odds that she'd be dumb enough to reincarnate him?" Sam returned with a dry laugh and clapped the book closed, "Once a rotten little snot, always a rotten little snot. If Mithos is ever brought back to life somehow, we can pretty much kiss the world as we know it goodbye. And I think Martel knows that, so it's safe to say that's he's probably locked up inside her or wherever she stashes souls. I'd just like to know for sure, but that's probably something Caleb knows and obviously isn't gonna tell anyone." She opened one eye to look up at the floating halfa, managing to pull off an impassive expression with just that. "So... where **are** you gonna sleep tonight?"

Danny blinked rapidly at her, surprised by the sudden subject change, then smacked his palm against his forehead. He'd completely forgotten about that! Sam sighed and reached into her sleeping bag, pulling free a thin blanket that was part of the set.

"Oh, here. You can use this. Go bug Tucker and see if he'll give you his sheet too." she told him with a grin and snuggled back down into her bag with a blush as he thanked her, rolled up the blanket in his arms and took off to annoy the techno-geek as well.

"Geez, if Caleb kicked you to the curb, just say so sooner, man." Tucker muttered sleepily after hearing the phantom out, then unzipping his own sleeping bag completely and spreading it open, "Here. I've got my sheet; just add the one Sam gave you onto it and sleep on that side. Valerie won't try shooting at you if I'm here too." With that, he turned over and set his glasses aside again, already drifting back to sleep. Danny sighed but spread the extra sheet over the expanded bedding, crawling under the blankets to carve himself a space to sleep, leaving a decent amount of empty air between his back and Tucker's, just for the sake of comfort on both their ends.

"What if I change back while I'm sleeping?" he hissed under his breath.

"Then hide under the blankets. Now sleep. This is weird enough as it is for me; I don't need the extra talking to remind me that you're, what, three inches away from me?"

"Ah, sorry. But thanks anyway."

Tucker gave some vague grunt in response, probably striving to reach his happy dreamland of mansions and monster trucks and twin Stars coddling him over chocolate milk, anything to distract him from the cold presence of the halfa beside him. Danny couldn't blame him; it really was awkward, but a far better cry than, say, sleeping beside his own sister, or -worse?- Sam. Valerie would sooner shoot him than let him open his mouth to ask, and Caleb...

He wasn't gonna go there.

* * *

Morning brought mixed feelings for the group. Danny was pleased to find that he hadn't changed back overnight this time, though not very happy at the thought of being in his Phantom form for so long. Save for the occasional periods of unconsciousness that forced him back to his Fenton self, he'd been Danny Phantom almost continuously for the past few days, nearly a week. That was also alarming; didn't Caleb say that they were supposed to have been through the Book in roughly a week? They'd been through several levels already and hadn't seen even a single hostage. Where were the kidnapped people? Where were his parents?

Sam and Jazz both were still confused over their respective subjects. For Sam, she puzzled over the missing pieces of information from the textbooks as she continued her hunt for more about the Gate of the Underworld and the Altar of Darkness they searched for; Jazz worried over Danny, and the sudden coldness Caleb presented when concerning him. It seemed forced, in her opinion. Danny had prepared breakfast this time -omelets, of all things- and had an odd frown suddenly appear on his face in place of his former cheerful look. She had glanced towards Caleb in time to see him take on a concerned expression, open his mouth as though to speak, then clap it shut and return to the neutral look he usually gave.

It had been strange to see how much he'd changed on them once they became this rag-tag team of heroes in the Book. Before then, he'd been bright and cheerful and always smiling, the very picture of a brilliant and optimistic young scholar and teacher. Then secrets were revealed, on both sides, and a thick wall sprang up around him without anyone really realizing it. The smiles grew scarce, and what few did show were usually sardonic, dry, almost self-mocking or sorrowful at times. He was stern, he was uncaring, he was informative, he was secretive; he was both sides of a coin at the same time, sometimes even in the same breath.

And if there was one thing Jazz managed to glean from just that flicker of emotion on his face when it came to Danny, it was this; perfect neutrality was a powerful advantage for Caleb, but it was wounding him a little more each day.

Valerie and Tucker sat side by side, plates empty of omelets after they downed the meal eagerly. A faintly uncomfortable silence hung between them, brought up by the confrontation the previous day, when Valerie had fired a beam from her rifle at Danny. She had a good idea of how bad a call **that** had been, especially after having seen Tucker have a near breakdown over the deaths of the older Sam and Danny Phantom in his own Trial. He'd still been trying to piece together his normal self, come to terms with things and give his present view on the meaning of 'power' a really hard look... and she went and fired her gun on the subject of his breakdown.

Taaaacky.

But, come on! He was a _ghost_, for chrissakes! Tucker was a ghost-**hunter**. By that definition, shouldn't he also be hunting Danny Phantom? What made the Ghost Kid an exception to the rule? And then she'd remember that smile, that last smile the older Danny Phantom gave as he faded from existence, where it seemed like he just radiated kindness and love and so much goodness it made her want to scream in confusion. When that smile disappeared with him, she felt so hollow, numb, almost dead inside. Like something really special and unique and good to the world had just been lost forever.

"I'm sorry." Valerie finally said thickly, the words almost sticking in her mouth as she tried to speak without bursting into tears of shame. She'd hurt Tucker while trying to attack her enemy; may as well have shot the techno-geek instead for all the good **that** did. "I didn't know you... liked that guy... that much..."

"He's my friend, Valerie. Remember that." Tucker returned quietly, poking at the crumbs on his plate with the fork, "So, don't shoot at him anymore, okay? Not here, and not outside, in our world."

She bristled, shame turning to anger in a split second. What was **that**? Just because Tucker claimed the ghost boy was a friend, she wasn't allowed to hunt him at all? Ever?

"Why? He _ruined_ my life! He's a threat to the city, even if no one sees it but me!" the huntress snapped back, "I can promise not to shoot at him while we're here, but he's free game once we're outta this stupid Book!" Tucker glared back at her.

"Then what was the point in apologizing?" he returned and got up, walking away from her to join in the camp clean up. Valerie scowled and folded her arms over her chest. It wasn't fair. That smile, that stupid haunting smile; it was only because it was Tucker's Trial! Tucker saw Danny Phantom as some wonderful thing, some great gift to the world, so the level made up a Danny Phantom that was as sweet as Danny Fenton -she felt her cheeks burn red at **that** thought- and that just _couldn't_ be what the Ghost Kid was really like!

"Everyone ready for the teleporter?" Caleb called out as the last of the preparations were done. The teens gathered around the disc, thoughts shoved aside for later and game faces back in play.

"Team Phantom, good to go!" Sam declared proudly, a smirk on her face as she rested her hands on her hips, "Let's hope the next level has some showers; I don't want to have any monsters catching whiff of us before we can ambush them."

"Locked and loaded." Valerie returned, patting her ecto-gun with equal pride, "The next level might be the last one. I know **I** don't have any sins." Caleb gave her an odd look, eyebrow lifted as he tilted his head to one side, like he was puzzled but unsure if he was supposed to be puzzled.

"And this is supposed to be meaningful?" he remarked, "_Everyone _has sins, Valerie. These Trials force us to face those sins, acknowledge them, and repent for them." He patted his satchel. "Besides, we still don't have enough Soulfire to light the Altar. If the next level really **is** the last one, then we are, as the saying goes, seriously screwed."

"Please don't talk like Lancer." Danny sighed morosely, "I actually like you."

"Well, if we still have Trials left, then we just have to deal with Valerie's and Danny's, right?" Jazz pointed out, counting on her fingers, "First was mine, then Tucker's, then Sam's... three down, two to go."

"Doesn't Caleb get a Trial?" Tucker complained, "What a gyp!" The android grinned, and Jazz noted it as one of those self-mocking ones.

"Of course not. I've got more sins than strands of hair on my head. Nebilim couldn't possibly throw one at me that I can't shrug off." he returned, "You live as long as I have, you pick up **lots** of sins; I think of them as inconsistent birthday presents since I seem to get a new one every year."

"Should you _really_ be proud of something like that?" Sam groused, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Probably not, but you can blame that on my lack of morals as Christmas presents."

Rolling their eyes in collective exasperation, the teens decided to take a cue from the android and ignore him for once, walking over to use the teleporter for the next level.

* * *

Perhaps Valerie's haughtiness had come back to bite them. Maybe it was Caleb's overconfidence. Or maybe it was Danny's own worries manifested. Whatever it was, the next level didn't really mesh with anything the teens knew personally. It was pretty, but that was about as far as anyone understood about it.

Stars sparkled beautifully overhead, just beyond a vast glass dome. The floor was a silvery color metal, very artificial, and the buildings surrounding the teens soared to wondrous heights, connected with walkways. Gaps in the floor reached incredible depths, and shimmering soft light glowed, giving the dome city a faintly ethereal look. Figures dressed in flowing white robes with various colored sashes and intricate silver adornments floated all over the place, graceful white feather wings spreading from their backs flapping serenely and letting them move about freely.

The teens gaped around themselves, mouths open in awe. Behind them, a sharp muffled curse sounded, and they suddenly found themselves being herded towards a large stack of pale blue crates, arms grabbed and bodies pushed around to keep them in a group. By the time they gathered their wits and got their brains back in working order, Sam, Tucker, Jazz, Danny, and Valerie all found themselves in a cramped huddle, hidden in a shelter of metal boxes and flat silver sheets that formed a covering over them. Caleb crouched before them, blocking the entry to the makeshift cave.

The look on his face was one of a man that had just been rendered senseless, too stunned to speak. All he could do was stare vacantly, eyes wide with shock, at some point on the floor in the midst of their little huddle.

"What the hell was **that** for? This place is beautiful!" Valerie breathed, gazing past him as though longing for another glimpse of the world beyond the android, "I'm actually looking forward to this if it's my turn!" Caleb's eyes shot up to her face before returning to burning a hole in the floor. In the same moment, his arms snapped outward, palms flat against the sides of the crates to create even more obvious of a barrier.

"Okaaaay..." Danny murmured, "I'm guessing Caleb's trying to say that this place is a bad, bad one to be in." He looked to Sam beside him hopefully. "You wouldn't happen to have any hints about this?" he pleaded and the Goth sighed, squirming around to reach her backpack.

"Hold on. Let me take a look." she muttered and Jazz twisted in place, stretching one leg at an angle to give her more room to maneuver in. Once the textbook was in her hand, the carrot-top pulled back into her little huddle and the group peered down at the book laid on the floor between them all. Sam flipped through the pages quickly, skimming them for an image that would match their new surroundings.

It was partway through the book, near the middle, before she halted and spread the book flat, violet eyes narrowing at the image and the words that went with it.

"'Behold, unto thine eyes shines the wondrous City of Angels, Welgaia. Here it was that Lloyd and his companions ascended to gather the final material necessary to craft the Rune Crest. This city serves as home to the angels created by the Lord Yggdrasill, now revealed to be the fallen hero, Mithos...'" she read aloud, trailing off and stopping when the rest of the page didn't offer more than just a retelling of Lloyd's search for a mana fragment and the sudden opportunity to get it provided by the Seraphim-swordsman, Kratos.

"Well, then Caleb should fit right in!" Tucker remarked brightly, "He's an angel too!" Said angel made a faint strangled sound, and the boy turned to peer at him through his glasses. "Hey, you okay? I mean, this is like your home territory. This **really** is a recreation of something that existed back in your day!" he went on and Caleb gave him the same panicked look he'd given Valerie before going back to that invisible spot on the floor, never mind that the _Symphonian Culture_ book was right on top of it.

"Wait, look there." Jazz suddenly added, reaching out to tap at another paragraph, "It also says that Welgaia served as a place to hold prisoners for experiments and research purposes." She looked up at the rest of the group with wide eyes. "What if this level **isn't** for a Trial?" she told them, "What if it's for holding all those kidnapped people prisoner?" Danny lifted his head so quickly, he banged it against the plating over them. He rubbed at it tenderly as he stared at his sister.

"Then... M-Maddie and Jack could be here? And everyone else from the school?" he blurted out in rising hope, "We can rescue them!"

"We caaaan... _if a certain red-haired angel would __**move out of the way**__!_" Sam snapped in a near one-word rush, glaring at Caleb's continued role of 'Guardian Angel of the Door Outta There'. Jazz looked between the two of them a few times before groaning softly in dismay, her head dropping to rest on her knees.

"Is this another of those instances where something touches one of Caleb's nerves and he's pretty much useless to us until he gets over it somehow?" she asked her brother behind her makeshift shield. Danny mirrored Jazz's groan.

"Yeah." he answered, "Getting him out of it is the hard part. I don't know what about this place is locking him up in Panic Mode."

"Well, _someone_ snap him out of it and quick! My back's starting to cramp!" Valerie griped, kicking at Caleb's leg in a failed attempt to get him to budge, "Move it, you walking My-Size Ken doll!"

Sam flipped through pages again, searching out mentions of Caleb's name in the text as Tucker brought out his PDA and began tapping at the buttons, bringing up a computer game to play. The Phantom lens peeked out from his pocket, and Danny debated on pointing it out to him, uncertain that mentioning it won't bring back those memories and bring his friend down into another funk. Valerie continued her kicks, now muttering a count under her breath for each one before switching legs and kicking with the other foot. Perhaps she considered kicking someone who couldn't feel pain a type of workout?

"Ugh, I can't find anything!" Sam grumbled and shot Danny a look, "Didn't he tell you anything about this place?"

"I already **told** you, I don't _know_! I heard about his trip to Castle Whild, but that place was nowhere near this Welgaia or whatever!" he protested with a scowl, "I fell asleep while he was talking about some ruins and fruit cocktail!" The teens blinked at him, then glanced at Caleb from askance.

"Ruins and... fruit cocktail?" Sam echoed in confusion, one eyebrow hiking up at the combination.

"God, _why_ does Amity Park get all the weird ones?" Jazz groaned, shaking her head.

"And why would there be anything in our books about why Caleb would freak out in a place like this?" Valerie pointed out dryly, "That's information private to him, y'know. Who'd be dumb enough to print a million copies of a book that holds their deepest secrets?" Sam sighed harshly, resting her cheek on a fist.

"So we're stuck here until we find a way to get Caleb to get over himself and let us out. Where's a giant magnet when you need one?" she griped, "Can't even tell what's going on outside..." Danny nodded in agreement, paused, then looked around himself before taking on an exasperated look.

"How many times am I going to forget I'm a ghost on this stupid field trip?" he griped under his breath. With that, he dove for the floor, phasing through and out of the little hiding spot. The teens watched him, all looking at the spot where he vanished.

"Oh yeaaah~! I forgot he could do that too." Jazz remarked and looked over at Caleb curiously. The android still seemed vacant, so she leaned forward with a determined expression. If she was right about her thoughts on his current mental state, even with his perfect neutrality... "Oh, Caaaaleb~!" she cooed, startling the rest of the group with her voice, "Danny went out to investigate Welgaia all by himseeelllf~!"

That seemed to do it. Caleb gave a sudden start, eyes lifting quickly to stare at Jazz for several seconds. The two gazed at one another in utter silence until the blank expression on his face slowly shifted to a furious one, green eyes blazing brightly in the dim light of the cramped hiding place.

"That. _Little._ _**Idiot!**_" the android fumed and twisted around, scrambling out of the shelter before taking off on his own wings to find the halfa, "Danny! Get **back** here!"

"Hey, that worked." Valerie remarked in surprise as Jazz smiled smugly, "Good call."

"Behold the power of psychology." she replied proudly.


	19. Chapter 19

19

"Wow~...."

Danny could only utter that one word as he hovered high above the city, gazing up at the clear dome of glass and violet-hued beams curving to hold it all in place. Beyond it were the stars, sparkling brighter than any photo could hope to capture. Wisps of pinkish-purple mist curled and twisted like the tail of a comet outside the glass dome, twinkling as though millions of jars of glitter had been mixed into the vapor. Turning his head a bit more to follow the path of recognizable stars, the halfa caught his breath at the next sight; that of the Earth itself, blue and beautiful and so perfectly intact, a jewel among jewels resting on the black velvet of space. Hanging beside it in silver glory was the Moon, the one everyone was aware of, sporting an American flag somewhere on its surface and just as oblivious as its azure companion that another moon orbited the planet as well.

"So this is Derris-Kharlan." Danny murmured to himself, finally pulling himself away from the awe-inspiring view to look back down at the city. He was invisible of course; last thing he needed was to have Caleb reboot himself within the next five minutes and go tearing after him while he was still scouting. "And this is Welgaia." The ghost boy studied the buildings around him, the floating angels that drifted by in complete silence, dull-eyed yet focused on some task that seemed to consume their entire minds, and frowned. "Geez, no wonder Caleb hates this place!" Danny muttered under his breath, throwing his arms out in an encompassing gesture to make up for his inability to speak any louder, "This place is deader than a Net café when the power's out!"

Well, no point hanging out here. Better move on. He flew back down into the city proper, weaving around towering structures and trying to keep track of where he went in relation to where his friends were still in hiding. It was easy to avoid the angels. They flew in straight lines; where was the creativity in that? Danny had his points where he flew in straight lines, mostly to get someplace in a hurry because somebody was about to get killed or covered in meat or some other form of public embarrassment that would warrant a preference for death. The rest of the time, Danny flew about wildly, freely, just loving the fact that he could take off any time he wanted. Maybe it was because angels had wings? That might restrict them, a little.

Didn't stop Caleb from doing some pretty impressive aerial moves with his own wings.

"What do they keep in these things anyway?" Danny muttered and phased into one of the towering buildings, looking around himself. There were many containers lining the walls, odd discs that were too small to be teleporter pads, and a pair of angels dressed in what looked like knight's armor, with helmets and halberds in hand. Each one wore a colored sash that draped over their breastplates. _'What's with the red?'_ Danny wondered and drifted by them with extra care. They had to be soldiers, dressed like that.

The wall of containers looked faintly ominous, and Danny gingerly phased a hand into one to 'cop a feel', so to speak. There were a lot of small things in there, small and round and really smooth. He pulled one out and peered at it in confusion. A marble? What would angels want with crates full of colored marbles? He brought it closer for a more intense stare. Funny; it looked familiar. Where had he seen something like this before?

Determined to figure it out at a later time, Danny slipped the little marble into his pocket, turned and phased back out of the building. He'd scouted this far and hadn't seen any signs of a prison block or holding cells. All he could do now was head back to the group and hope that Caleb had gotten himself together to act as their guide again.

* * *

Caleb flew along at a steady pace, trying his best to blend in with the other angels despite his different wings and red hair that made him feel like a floating target. He'd already had his clothing shift to look like the white robes and ornate silver accessories the others wore; there wasn't much else he could do to camouflage himself.

There also wasn't much he could do about his memories of Welgaia, which continued to dog him in his search, slapping him with the first of many major failures in his lifetime; this first one had resulted in Very Bad Things happening that put Symphonia on the brink of destruction.

He paused to slap himself across the cheek for that last one. Bad idea, following the memory of Welgaia back down to Symphonia. Bad, Caleb, bad. Find Danny Phantom first, scold for ten minutes, then go angst somewhere.

"Okay, plan in place." Caleb sighed and refrained from shivering again at the sight of another vacant-eyed angel floating past him, "Martel, I hate being here. This isn't **my** Welgaia...." He halted abruptly when his sensors gave a tiny flare, just a brush of recognizable mana on the very edge of their limits. _'There!'_ Caleb darted in the general direction of that flare, hoping to get back within range so as to pick up Danny's ectomana again. The further he was from the boy, the harder it was to pinpoint his exact location and determine his health. The markers for the rest of the group, Sam, Jazz, Tucker and Valerie, also were beginning to recede as he moved on. More alarmingly, -and he had noticed this only a minute or so after he'd fled to hunt down the phantom- the markers had scattered, fairly close knit, but still spread out, like a canvassing party.

The angel had to muffle his swearing to avoid the other angels staring at him.

This was _exactly_ what he **didn't** want to have happen! Even armed with the knowledge from the textbooks he had given them, those teens wouldn't be able to cope with the sheer wrongness of Welgaia! They wouldn't be able to navigate its confusing streets and walkways, decipher the angelic writing engraved on buildings and items; he never included a map in the books! The idea of it was ludicrous! That information was censored for a reason!

And that many humans in a cluster in a city full of angels who think of humanity as just cattle for slaughter was going to raise a **lot** of red flags and bring all kinds of hell on a bunch of innocent kids. This was nothing like Lloyd and his friends running through Welgaia; they had Exspheres, combat experience, magic and weapons that were highly effective against angels. Team Phantom were ghost-hunters of the modern age, raised to think all angels were those sweet, benevolent ones from religious theory. Could they possibly set those mindsets aside to attack an angel if need be? Especially once those angels started lashing into them for being human?

"I didn't ask for this when I let them come along!" Caleb growled under his breath. He spotted a group of angels up ahead and quickly ducked to one side, pressing himself against one of the many silver-blue buildings in an attempt to shield himself from sight. They floated by, oblivious to the android as they discussed the new test subjects in Cell Blocks A and B. He caught only a snippet of the conversation -_'...Hi-Exsphere research to be conducted on the younger humans...'_- but it was enough to freeze him in place, eyes wide as his memory made itself dominant again, images of a golden crest, a shining red stone, and all the pain it caused flitting through his mind's eye.

He was torn now. Should he keep on the search for Danny, head back to recollect the teens and alert them to what was happening, or head straight for the cells and free the prisoners himself? What to do, what to do? Caleb bit down on one knuckle, weighing his options frantically, running mental simulations of each one to see which had the best result. Numbers were crunched, routes were mapped, and Caleb eventually slapped his hands over his ears, whimpering softly at the multiple small errors popping up as various possible plans collided with one another in an attempt to maximize chances of success with the lowest number of losses.

"No life lost.... _No life lost!_" he cried, "Give me a plan where no life is lost! Lloyd, how do you win a battle without losing a single innocent life?!"

With calculations still running in his head almost distractedly, Caleb shot off to continue looking for Danny; with him in tow, he'd have enough firepower to break into the cell blocks and rescue the people. If anyone died, he'd use _Resurrection_ and _Raise the Dead_ like his mana supply was limitless. If anyone died and he _couldn't_ revive them, well....

That would be yet another costly failure, wouldn't it?

* * *

Jazz peered at the plaque covered in unusual markings as Sam flipped through the pages of her book again. Tucker had looked away from his PDA -but still kept it in his hands for easy access- in favor of checking out the buildings with his friends and Valerie tried kicking her way into one. The minute Caleb had cleared the entrance to their little shelter in his mad dash after Danny Phantom, the teens bolted, scampering off to investigate Welgaia on their own, confident that the book contained all the relevant knowledge needed to get by.

Boy, were they wrong.

"Gah! There's nothing here about this place that isn't story-time!" Sam fumed, slapping pages aside with less care than before, "No map, no decryption key... Tucker!" She turned her head sharply to bark at the technophile, the boy jumping in shock as he juggled his PDA in his hands.

"What?!" he returned once it was safely in his hands again. Sam pointed at the book in her hands as though it was at fault for their situation.

"Get back online and find out what the heck these markings mean! And a map!" she told him and marched up to the door of the building Valerie had been kicking at, "There's no way we can do any kind of searching when we can't understand the words written anywhere or what buildings are for what." Tucker sighed, tapping at his keys again while Sam studied the doorway carefully, Jazz joining her after abandoning the plaque. "I wonder how anyone is supposed to get into these things if there's no doorknob or touchpad?" she murmured and blinked when Jazz pointed at the decorative lining on the outer frame of the door.

"This looks like more of that magitechnology that Caleb talked about. What if these angels are as advanced as he is?" she remarked and held her hand towards the door. It slid open with a soft breathy sound and she jerked her hand back, startled. Tucker noticed the action and lit up, jogging over to look the open doorway over himself.

"Cool! It's got some kind of sensor on it." he remarked and walked in, "Well, since it's open, let's check it out." The teens looked at one another before shrugging and walking in after him.

"This might be a bad idea, but it's better than being cramped in that little hiding spot." Jazz sighed, the last to follow the group inside the building, "Besides, I'm sure Caleb and Danny will come back to us any time now."

The main foyer inside the building had a few doors dividing it into more rooms. Testing them revealed three other rooms and an elevator. No one went in the elevator, so they restricted their exploring to the foyer and the three rooms. Valerie and Jazz took to looking over the foyer more carefully, noting how it looked just as artificial and cold as the rest of the city. Packs were set down and partially unloaded, as a glance at a watch noted how near to lunch it was and everyone could use a meal.

Tucker entered one room, gazing around in awe at the shelves full of helmets and spears stacked against the back wall. He hurried over to one and grasped it in his hands, marveling at how heavy the weapon was in his grip when he tried to pull it down. He let it go at that and went to peering into crates filled with charms.

"This must be an armory. I didn't know angels had stuff like this." he murmured to himself, reaching in to pick out one of the charms. A small metal pentagram dangled on a cord and he lifted an eyebrow at it. This looked like the kind of thing that was right up Sam's alley.

In another of the rooms, Sam herself was examining the rows of white robs and silver adornments and colored sashes that were folded up or hung on shelves and hooks. They looked like the clothes that the angels outside were wearing. She fingered one of the robes, feeling out the fabric and trying to place what kind it was; not cotton, and not silk, soft and light, smooth and shimmering but not unnatural. She frowned at them. The clothes were simple and pleasant enough, but they gave her a strange creepy vibe that just didn't fit her Goth style.

Or maybe that was just her picking up on something Danny was up to. When was he coming back anyway?

She wandered over to a round chamber set in a corner of the room, peering inside once its own door slid open. A familiar seat in the corner gave her reason to laugh almost hysterically. Who knew that angels needed bathrooms too? But there was a toilet, plain as day. Sam stepped into the chamber, to get a better look at the thing and ensure it was environmentally friendly, and jumped when the door slid shut behind her.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, startled. She spun around and spotted a panel by the door that she had overlooked upon her initial assessment of the chamber. "Huh. That's a first. For something that runs on sensors, why would this thing need a control panel?" Sam muttered, reaching out to poke at one of the displayed symbols on the screen. It lit up, a whir sounded, and a second later, Sam let out a shriek.

The door to the room flew open as the other teens rushed in, alarmed at her cry.

"Sam! What happened?!" Tucker exclaimed, looking around frantically.

"Are you okay? Where are you?!" Jazz added, cupping her hands around her mouth. The chamber in the corner slid open and Sam appeared within it, scowling furiously. At least, part of her looked like it was scowling. Her hair dripped down and completely covered her face save for her mouth and nose, she herself was soaked, clothes, backpack and all. She stepped out, her combat boots squeaking with water as she stood on the metal tile, a puddle forming at her feet.

"I found the shower." she grumbled, arms folding over her chest as her friends tried to hold back their snickers.

* * *

Danny touched down and peered into the empty hiding place, frowning. Okay, so maybe he hadn't counted on Caleb recovering so soon and the whole group of them racing out to find him. He rapped his knuckles against the crate as he leaned back against the stacks, thinking things over.

"Caleb must have snapped out of his little panic bit and flown out to find me. That leaves Sam, Jazz, Tucker and Valerie free to get out of this place, so would they try to follow him to reach me, or would they go poking around this place some more?" he wondered aloud. He looked up at the angels that fluttered about, uncertain if it was okay to talk to them or not. It wasn't like they were monsters; angels were supposed to be minions of good, right? But the textbook and Caleb both said that the angels that lived on Derris-Kharlan were the total opposite of those kinds of angels. Talking to them might start up a fight.

"I wonder if I can overshadow them." the halfa mused to himself. At worst, he'd be unable to use that power on them, like the magically created people in Tucker's Trial level. And if he **did** somehow manage to overshadow an angel, he could get another angel to give him directions on where the kidnapped people were held. He could get his parents out and they'd help find Jazz, and from Jazz they'd find everyone else, and Caleb will eventually find them on his own. But all that would happen only if he could overshadow an angel.

Well, might as well give it a try.

Danny shot up back into the air, vanishing mid-flight to gain some stealth, and began a search of the city for an angel he could deal with if the overshadowing failed. Most of the angels he'd seen so far were in plain white clothes with silver adornments and belts, with colored sashes draped across their torsos and holding various kinds of weapons, like staffs or bows or spears. He'd even seen a couple carrying swords in each hand. From what he remembered of Caleb's 'bedtime story', angels wore the colors of their leader, the head honcho that ran the whole operation. The ones Caleb saw in Castle Whild wore purple, the color of the outfits Sérno and his crazy wife wore back in Symphonia's time.

Danny wondered who the other colors were supposed to represent. There were at least four he'd seen so far; blue, red, green and gold. He'd have to choose one of those colored sashes as an angel to overshadow. Better get to figuring out who they were.

--

He managed to find a pair of red sashed angels standing guard in front of what looked like a weird computer terminal. From what Danny could tell, they were like the ones he'd spotted in the building full of marbles, all decked out in armor and helmets with wicked spears. Soldiers? Did all soldier angels wear red sashes? Who in Derris-Kharlan was represented by the color red?

Danny had a feeling Caleb would know, considering the android's panic and the fact that the halfa had fallen asleep before hearing the rest of Caleb's life story.

So, soldiers were red angels. Okay, that narrowed down his choices then. Red angels were probably pretty strong to be able to fly and whack people around with those weapons. Danny didn't want to be on the receiving end of those spears and swords if things went south, so overshadowing red angels was definitely out.

Still, that computer thing looked interesting. He wondered why it would be guarded, then resolved to return and find out once he found Caleb. Or Caleb found him, whichever came first.

--

The next set of angels he came across were wearing blue sashes. They seemed to holding clipboards, directing other blue angels for some operation. Danny floated down closer to ground level, where most of the action was, and simply listened in to the orders.

"Are the Exspheres prepared for further research experiments?" one blue angel asked of another, his headdress more ornate than the others. Danny assumed this one was the leader of the bunch. The two other angels with him nodded.

"The outer Gate is currently sealed to prevent the Fallen Angel's escape, him and his entourage." another commented dully, her eyes lacking anything in the way of life, "The current supply of beings is all we have to work with in preparing the transfer system for Lord Nebilim."

"Only one being is necessary, if the creatures calling themselves 'ghosts' are to be believed." the other pointed out flatly, "The key to uniting the land of the dead with the land of the living... though accelerated action will need to be taken to obtain the host body."

"Agreed. The Fallen Angel has already made his motions towards utilizing the host for his own purposes. Lord Nebilim's observations in the Trial stages warrants an immediate result from our research." the lead angel murmured.

"Additional troops have already been dispatched to hunt down the host body. It will take time, however, as it is capable of shielding itself from magic and sight using ghostly means." the woman pointed out, and she might have been saying more but Danny didn't bother with sticking around to hear it.

The conversation was heavy with words and tones that he didn't fully understand but knew deep down he didn't like. Host body, host body; he **really** didn't like the sound of that. What the heck was all that?!

"Okay, Danny, calm down. Think it out." he told himself. He managed to find himself a secluded little area to hide out in, sheltered himself between a couple of large metal crates and what looked to be a small steel treasure chest. Danny drummed his fingers on his knees for a bit before giving in to temptation and opening the chest from a corner of its lid.

Who in their right minds would put apples in a treasure chest in a city full of crazy angels?!

He munched on one absently as he turned his attention back to the issue at hand, namely that weird conversation those blue angels had. He couldn't overshadow them; they were obviously very smart, scientists or something like it, and a strong mind could force out a ghost attempting to overshadow them. So they were also out. But this new development... he really wasn't liking it.

"Nebilim wants to unite the land of the dead with the land of the living so he can rule both worlds." Danny muttered to himself between bites of apple, " But according to these angels, he needs a host to do it, so the angels are doing experiments to make something that will let him get a host." He frowned before twisting around to sling his backpack off and grab his textbook, flipping it open to read. "Hosts... that's what the book said the people were called when they got those Cruxis Crystal things stuck on them. So the Crystals made people into like what Colette was; a Chosen." he went on and paused again. _'Chosen Mode.'_ he thought to himself, remembering the words Caleb used to describe that short burst of hyped up energy that burnt him out in Tucker's Trial level.

"But they said they were doing Exsphere research...." Danny countered himself, flipping through the pages again to find information on that term, "Ah, here it is... it's the same thing? Cruxis Crystals are just another version of Exspheres and those are...." He peered at the picture in the book before the familiarity of the stone struck him. "The marbles!" he exclaimed and stuffed the apple into his mouth to free up a hand for fishing the little ball from his pocket. Yeah, it looked just like the picture, which meant this thing was an Exsphere, which meant those other things in that room he was in were also Exspheres, which meant that they were all going to be put on people....

The apple fell from Danny's mouth as he realized **which** people were going to be experimented on.

* * *

Caleb checked on the condition of the Soulfire in flight; there was just no way he was going to stop his search just for a glance at the stone. It was still sizable, a little impressive really, but he could tell it was beginning to dwindle again. No battles with random monsters, and everyone was separated, making it harder to sustain the mana flow to the fire... he would be lucky if they escaped this level without much loss to their Soulfire, far less hope to gain any amount of it from the severe lack of torches and his avoiding angels. The android didn't want to start a battle with one yet, not with the teens scattered, the kidnapped people soon to be turned into lifeless beings, and him being ready to just accept the blame completely.

It would serve him right.

He stuffed the box back into his satchel just as his mana sensors went off, alerting him to the reappearance of Danny Phantom's ectomana, a small blip on the edge of his radar once more. Relief surged through him; finally, he could grab the boy, alert him to what was going on, and they'd move from there. The next step in the plan would be... would be... be....

_ERROR!_

Caleb cringed, halting abruptly as his hands flew up to grip his head, internal alarms tripping violently when he ran the simulations again, searching for that perfect plan that would rescue everyone and keep them all safe. Again, those same results clashed with his living side; the pragmatism of the computer willing to throw a few lives away in order to preserve the majority clashing with his conscience, the living will that demanded that **all** lives be saved, like Lloyd had taught him. Like Lloyd claimed that Emil person learned to do. All of it collided, trying to spit out a plan Caleb would approve and hitting him with errors in the meantime.

He whimpered, struggling to flap his wings and get him moving towards Danny's position. The boy was in one place, thankfully, and this was his best chance to catch up to him.

"Halt. State your name and class." a voice ordered coldly, and Caleb froze before straightening up as his hands jerked down to his sides, his eyes wide. He shoved the error-causing plan away, dumped the files quickly in an effort to recover and put up a suitable mask, then turned his head to see who it was that had called to him.

No one he recognized, thankfully, because then they didn't recognize him. It was a white-winged angel, a unit leader from the looks of his headdress and the more fitted ivory robes he wore. Caleb managed to contain another cringe at the color of his sash, before sighing to himself. The Soulfire needed mana, and if he tried to bluff an angel that Nebilim created he was just going to make a fool of himself. Fate sealed in that regard, the android spun around and aimed the Wonder Fork at the other angel.

"Soldier of Yggdrasill, surrender your knowledge of the location of the humans." Caleb hissed. The angel with the gold sash only pointed his own spear back, a circle of light already blooming beneath him as he chanted a spell out. "Wrong answer!" the redhead yelled, rushing forward and slamming the metal prongs over the angel's head, knocking him out of casting. The angel struck back blindly, lashing out with a kick from mythril armored boots that threw Caleb into a collision with another set of angels.

"It's the Fallen Angel! He's infiltrated our ranks!" the angel leader shouted, attempting to get his dented headdress back on. Caleb tore himself from the grips of the startled angels he'd crashed into, flying off to gain some distance for another attack, a spell or a sword technique, anything. Danny's marker was moving again, and Caleb's hopes sank before realizing that the blip of light was approaching him. Had the halfa managed to find him first? Or was this just a stroke of luck?

"Die!" a girl's voice yelled behind him and Caleb twisted around, a hastily summoned _Guardian_ spell in place to deflect the whirling angel girl's twin swords. His mind already identified her, a Swordian, deceptively cute but heavily powered, wearing armored bell dresses and hairbands to lure attention away from their preferred weapons, double broadswords.

"Don't tempt me." Caleb growled in return, dropping the shield to thrust the fork towards her belly, searching out one of the Swordian's few vulnerable spots. The other angels were in the midst of casting several spells to retaliate, and there was no way he could ration another burst of mana for a second _Guardian_ defense. He was lucky his wings didn't short out from that first instinctive casting. Caleb shoved the Swordian aside, already bracing himself to take the brunt of the spells. He wondered if the repairs he made to himself were enough to keep him still active after the impact _those_ were going to make.

* * *

The explosions rocked the building and Sam's head shot up to narrow her eyes at the ceiling. Valerie nearly fell off her seat on a metal crate, eyes wide with alarm.

"What the hell was that?!" she blurted out, Jazz and Tucker already leaping up to their feet and pulling on their packs.

"Trouble, packing lots of magic, I bet." Sam muttered and followed her friends' lead, shouldering her pack with some difficulty. Her clothes weren't fully dry yet and she had yet to dry completely herself, so she'd slipped on one of the white robes as a covering until it was safe to change into another outfit, cinching the waist with a silver belt that handily held her dagger in place. There were slits in the back for wings, and the sleeves were very loose and billowed, but at least it came with soft hose and little white boots for her legs to spare her any embarrassment at wearing it. It wasn't her usual color -Bleak Black- but it did the job of covering her, though it fitted in a way that would make her blush if she let her mind linger on the thought too long.

She heard a click and turned to glare at Tucker, who only gave her a shamelessly wide smile as he held his PDA protectively.

"Danny's gonna **love** this." he teased, jumping back when she swung for him.

"You're dead when we get outta here, remember that!" Sam threatened and made her way to the door, "C'mon! That could have been either Danny or Caleb!"

The teens rushed outside, scanning their surroundings quickly to be sure they had some escape routes in mind and assess any damages that could send debris their way. With that done, they turned their attentions skyward, watching tiny figures flitting about in aerial combat, strangely graceful in their movements as their wings beat furiously and the angels moved in concert, like a military-mind flock. What were they attacking? That was the foremost concern on the group's minds.

Whatever it was, it impacted the building they had been camped in, and now chunks of material from its face were raining down on the teens. In a rising panic, they fled from the falling debris, scampering towards a strip of walkway that was differently colored from the rest of the floor. Their feet stumbled once they were on it and discovered the strip was actually moving.

"Whoa! Automatic moving walkways!" Tucker exclaimed brightly, the first to regain his balance as he immediately dropped to one knee to press a palm against the slate blue tiles beneath them. "And only a few of these are installed in some malls in the United States; I didn't know these were also prochaic!"

"Marvel over angel technology later!" Jazz argued, "We have to find Danny and Caleb and figure out where all the kidnapped people are! If this place is under attack, they could get hurt!"

The walkway carried them on, away from the battlefield, and finally deposited the four teens on an oval platform suspended over one of the vast chasms in the city. From it, they could see several non-moving walkways on the other end of the chasm, large clear windows lining them like the face of a hotel complex. Clear tubes were interspersed between them, and angels could be seen fluttering into them and standing on a glowing disc that rose and fell at steady rates. Elevators.

"Hey! There they are!" Valerie blurted out in shock, pointing at a row of glass walls. People, familiar and not, were crowded behind the glass like animals on display. Mr. Lancer could be seen trying to talk to some of the adults that hadn't slumped into dejected little balls of misery. Jazz gasped, following Valerie's outstretched arm.

"Mom! Dad!" she cried in relief and joy, eyes watering at the sight of their blue and orange jumpsuits. They were part of the group Lancer was speaking with. "Thank goodness, they're all right!"

"Well, now that we know where they are, how are we supposed to get over there to break them out?" Sam muttered, looking around the platform, "The walkway was one way only, and I don't see anything that can...." She paused in mid-sentence, watching a glowing disc float towards the platform and stop at its edge, eerily innocent in how it just stayed there, waiting for them to board. The Goth glared at it, suspicion painting her every feature. "I smell a trap." she growled. Jazz hurried onto the disc, turned and gave the other teens a stern expression.

"I don't care right now. Mom and Dad are over there and so are the other kidnapped people. You guys go back and find Danny; have him come this way so he can help." she told them and pulled the Fenton Peeler from her purse, activating the armor, "And get Caleb! Mom and Dad's ghost hunting equipment needs to be fixed so Danny can be protected from them. He's the only one who can make the alterations!"

With that, the disc began moving away, and Jazz wobbled a bit before crouching to keep her balance on the floating object. Valerie sighed harshly before activating her own suit and hoverboard. She took to the air and floated over the chasm as well.

"Go without me. I've got one Thermos full holding that Technus freak and you busted my spare." she groused at Sam and Tucker, "I'm not in the mood to deal with your little spook so I'm going with her." She jerked a thumb in Jazz's direction before turning and zipping off to join the carrot-top, flying beside her protectively.

"What do you see in her anyway?" the Goth demanded of her friend as they both began running against the moving walkway to try getting to solid ground again.

"Honestly? I'm starting to wonder about that myself." Tucker muttered, huffing as he struggled to keep up with Sam.

* * *

Green sash angels were really weird. Danny decided this after flying from his hiding spot and running into a pair of them on his way back to the building with the Exspheres. They didn't do anything, they didn't say anything, they didn't carry anything; they just floated there, eyes closed, looking like they were either sleeping or waiting.

_'Angels don't sleep; at least, not these kinds of angels. Maybe they're waiting for someone?'_ he wondered, then braced himself. Well, they were unarmed, it was worth a try to test his overshadowing ability on one. Nodding once in agreement with that, Danny rushed forward and phased into the body of one of the angels.

He was surprised to find that overshadowing _did_ work, and shocked when his thoughts were interrupted by a strange voice. For a split second, Danny panicked, thinking Nebilim had taken to whispering in his head again, but no. This voice was from outside himself, from the other angel. He jerked back, startled, but the angel's companion only opened his eyes and pointed towards some seemingly random direction.

"Our Lord is over there, under attack. You'd best hurry and aid him." he murmured, "Our neutral mana bodies will only sustain your power for so long; you are foreign to us, yet similar." He flapped his wings, floating back from Danny. "Access the cell security grid to release the prisoners." the angel added, "Our Lord knows the lock release code. You must remind him of it." Danny blinked, quickly becoming confused by what was being told to him. What 'Lord'? Who were these people talking about? Code? How was Danny supposed to remind somebody about a code?

"How?!" he blurted out without further thought, growing more agitated by the second.

"The path to Mithos Yggdrasill's rebirth. He will know." the angel replied, then flew off without another word. Danny started after him.

"What?! Wait! Get back here!" he shouted angrily, "What do you mean by his 'rebirth'?!" A sudden explosion went off in the direction the angel had pointed out and Danny bit back the urge to swear, turning to fly towards the sound of the blast. Green sash angels were _really_ weird.

--

The blast's origin became clear as Danny flew closer to the source. Additional angels were pouring in from other skyscrapers, the air filling with figures in robes and white wings. He did a quick double-take, correcting himself on that last point; some of those angels had black wings, the majority of them wearing red sashes. Man, these guys were more confusing than Lancer's Spirit Week speeches!

A small cluster of angels were hanging out near one of the towers, the building's facade half demolished and raining debris onto the floor below. They definitely looked vicious. Danny managed to wing his way closer, checking their sashes. Gold; who would be in control of gold angels? And why the heck did they just blast one of their own...?

Oh.

The halfa watched as Caleb almost literally peeled himself from the face of the building, pinned in the center of a crater that decorated the once awe-inspiring tower of white stone and silver-blue metal. He dropped a second before his wings kicked back on and he hovered there, the fork he carried now held before himself defensively.

"Forty-five percent. Nice." Danny almost jumped at hearing the android's voice so clearly, even from this distance. _'What the heck? Do angels have super senses or something?'_ He could even see what was going on as if he were right there by the redhead. "Would you like to try another one? See if you can aim it right this time?" Caleb jeered, a smirk painting his face.

The gold angels lifted their staffs, oddly decorated metal things, and Danny reacted to the imminent attack, rushing down to meet them head on, the beginnings of a Ghost Ray building up in his hands.

"Hey! I thought angels were supposed to be all about love and peace!" the halfa shouted to catch their attentions. The gold angels quickly turned to stare up at him, Caleb following their cue and giving him a startled expression. Danny ignored him for the moment, grinning as he fired the ectoplasmic beam at the group of attackers. "For a bunch of angels wearing gold, you don't seem to get the point of the Golden Rule, huh?"

"Get out of the way!" one gold angel, probably the leader if that big helmet-like thing was any indication, yelled at him in a surprisingly deep voice. The Ghost Ray slammed into a pair of sword-carrying girl angels beside him, and they fell with the sound of an invisible explosion following them. That was strange; usually Danny only heard that sound when monsters were defeated in the fights they used to have with them, and even the Trials made that noise. Were these angels actually monsters too? "Small wonder an angel of Huron would deign to stand before his false Master, groveling at the feet of an impostor." the angel sneered, snapping Danny back to the here and now.

"Huron?" Caleb echoed in surprise, and Danny felt his shoulder get grabbed, his whole 'body' spun around as the android stared at him, or rather, at the sash he was currently wearing while overshadowing the white-winged angel. "Green... Huron's robes...." he murmured before narrowing his eyes, looking into his face sharply, "Danny. You're in control of this angel; I can still pick up trace amounts of your ectomana around him. It won't last long."

"Yeah, that's what the other guy said." Danny retorted, "Now can we get back to trying to escape with our lives in one piece?"

The angel flock dove at them with spears and swords at the ready, several hanging back to chant spells. Caleb dove down towards the ground, dragging Danny along by one arm as they spiraled around the building at a dizzying speed, evading swipes of blades from the armed angels. Some of that speed was gravity working, as Caleb's wings spasmed in power, bursting red, then cutting out and repeating some few seconds later. The android had to have noticed -it's built into his body after all- but he acted as if he had no clue, gripping the fork in one hand, his arm in the other and just facing the streets below them like a suicide diver with an unwilling partner.

"Now, die! _Absolute!_" the spell-casting angels declared and Danny thrust one hand out in reaction to that, bringing up the Ghost Shield to block the magical attack. Blades of icy wind and frigid shards slammed against the glowing green bubble, vanishing into nothing upon contact. He grinned, dropped the shield, then fired back another Ghost Ray into the crowd of angels swooping down after them. They split to the sides to avoid the attack, those few who were too slow or diving too fast were hit, giving off those tell-tale bursts again before falling aside like broken birds.

"Who **are** these guys?!" Danny demanded of the teacher, "I don't get this whole place at all! Angels are supposed to be kind and good people, right? So why are these guys trying to impale us?!"

"Because the angels you were taught about were based on **me**!" Caleb snapped back, "Now quiet and let me focus!"

Danny clapped his mouth shut, scowling. Sheesh, touchy. He watched the incoming angels carefully as his thoughts went to the words that the leader spoke. Something about protecting a false Master, an impostor; they way they talked, it sounded like they were talking about Caleb. Why would Caleb be an impostor Master? Did he have, like, his own faction of angels at some point? But the green angels were Huron angels, according to goldie back there, so whose angels were gold?

A sharp turn nearly gave him whiplash and Danny found himself shoved behind one of the towers. He blinked, startled, then looked to the teacher for answers, wondering what this was about, only to freeze at Caleb's quick little pants for breath. Panting, as though he were out of breath, wearing out.

"Caleb?" he questioned, as though just saying his name got everything across. The android seemed to get that impression anyway.

"Forty-seven percent." Caleb returned, short and curt so as to get back to breathing. He managed a grin. "I've got this." he added and held up the giant fork before rushing off to meet the angels head on.

Forty-what? What was the guy talking about? Danny floated there, baffled, before his memory kicked him and pointed at that enlightening pack of questions he'd asked the night he sort-of broke Caleb. The android was keeping track of his damage; the minute he hit the magic number of seventy....

"The Over-Limit System kicks in." he finished with a murmur, frowning. Was that really such a good idea, forcing that mode when he was obviously taking more damage than he could handle at any one time? Ever since that fight with Caleb 2.0, he'd been holding back on his help, scanning Sam only twice in that whole mess in her level; once when he noticed her vanish, and again when Danny demanded that he scan her. His spell casting was almost gone now; Danny had yet to see him do anything besides dodge and run. Had something gotten damaged so badly, he couldn't fix it alone?

He would have thought further on it, but he was getting that strained feeling now, a more obvious effort on his part to keep his body together that was a sign that his overshadowing time was pretty much up. That Huron angel was right; the body couldn't hold him for very long. He struggled to keep control -if nothing else, maybe he could figure out how to use the angel's magic to cover for Caleb- but he lost that little battle when a massive blast went off nearby, nearly blinding him despite being sheltered in the shadow of the building. Danny pitched forward with a cry, the green sashed angel falling back against the tower.

"Remember! The path to the revival of Mithos Yggdrasill!" the angel blurted out at the stunned boy before vanishing in a burst of light. The brilliance of whatever happened faded, but not before leaving Danny to float there, eyes wide while sparkles of phantom radiance danced before them, dazing him for a few seconds. What was that?!

He shook his head furiously, determined to get all his senses back in order before flying out to see what happened. No good going into a possible battle half-cocked and clueless to what was going on. Vlad took advantage of that way too much, though heroic tendencies still managed to get the better of him anyway.

Well, it was still good that he rushed off with at least that in mind. Danny found Caleb hovering in open space, buildings damaged in a wide berth around him and a great deal of those angels were gone. But there was still a sizable number left, a mix of white winged and black winged angels all chanting together, circles of light floating below their figures as they summoned up power for spells. And as the ghost boy rushed to his teacher's side, he noticed with alarm that Caleb still was breathing in quick little gulps, almost wilting like Sam had before.

"Sorry... Wren...." he heard the android whisper, "Had to... use it again." The light; Danny realized it with those words. He had used _Incineration_ again, and Caleb had been pretty firm when he said he wasn't really supposed to use it so much. Heck, was it possible that he considered himself 'in trouble' for having used it just once before, when those ecto-roids were giving him and Valerie trouble?

"Are you okay?" Danny asked before he could stop the words. He smacked himself immediately after; gah, stupid question! Caleb chuckled at him, ignoring the incoming spells.

"I'm still at forty-seven percent, if that's what you mean. Managed to avoid getting hit a few more times for that last attack." he returned and tilted his head towards the barrage of fire, ice, wind, and light coming their way, "Do you mind?" The halfa grinned, taking his place before the teacher and holding up his hands, palms facing the elemental attacks. Another Ghost Shield spread from before his palms, spinning outward in a massive disc of translucent glowing green ectoplasm that canceled the magic on impact.

"That's him! That's the host body!" one of the angels suddenly yelled, and both Danny and Caleb jerked in shock. The angels rushed after them again and Danny felt his arm be grabbed once more.

_"Move!"_ Caleb snapped, flying off in a repeat of the previous escape, dragging Danny along for the ride. The angels trailed behind them, slowed by the obvious head start the two of them had thanks to Caleb's spell casting. "Host body?! What the hell are they talking-?!" he growled, then uttered a sharp little curse, something Danny couldn't quite understand considering the strangeness of the language he used. The grip on his arm tightened, just a little but it was enough to start to hurt. "That's why Nebilim recognized me... Martel, I'm such an _idiot_ sometimes!" the android hissed.

"I think they meant me." Danny pointed out, wincing, "Can you let up, just a bit? Don't want my arm breaking on me, y'know." Caleb glanced aside at him, sharp and fuming.

"You?! Why the hell would they refer to **you** as the host body?!" he demanded.

"I overheard some angels say that the host body could block magic and use ghost powers." the boy returned with a hesitant grin, hoping that the android would ease up on his grip soon, "I kinda assumed they meant me. I mean, we caught Technus, Desiree is still on the loose, and I'm the only other ghost here. If they meant Desiree, Nebilim would already be out, right?"

Caleb stared at him, looked away to make sure they didn't crash into anything as they weaved and sped through the city to find a hiding spot, then gave Danny a curt nod of agreement.

"Why me?" Danny sighed morosely, "Why does Nebilim want **me** so much? How the heck do I fit in with this whole 'uniting the dead and the living' plan? I don't even know how the Fenton Portal made me half-ghost; does he expect me to turn everyone in the world into a halfa?"

"No. There's something else, something more to that. I really am _such_ an idiot; I should have seen it from the start." Caleb growled, finally dragging the boy into one of the buildings, the door sliding closed behind them. They huddled in the room, listening -in Danny's case, straining his ears- for signs of the horde of angels. A loud rustle, like the flapping of many wings, finally passed them, a stream of sound that felt like forever before it all finally faded. Caleb nodded only when he deemed it safe, and knowing android hearing was better than human hearing Danny trusted that judgment. He sighed in relief, sagging back against the wall and dropping his phantom form for a while, wanting to be human, to be invisible to the eyes of those crazy angels, to get something to eat and actually have it taste right for once!

His stomach growled, picking up his thoughts, and Caleb blinked in surprise, still watching the door, before turning to look at Danny with a slightly confused expression, acting as though he'd never heard that before. The look was oddly hilarious, considering what they'd just gone through, and before Danny knew it, he was laughing, hugging his sides. Another second more and he heard the angelic android join him, a light-hearted chuckle that grew to a more earnest sound.

They laughed together for who knew how long, slowing to a stop only when Danny let out another long sigh, feeling much better about everything for some reason. Maybe he had been going crazy, or it was a case of hysterics? Who could say? But after all they'd been through, the laughing seemed to have settled their nerves, got them back to their normal selves, or whatever passed for normal for a half-dead boy and a mechanical angel.

Picking up on the audible clue from Danny's stomach, Caleb pulled his pack around and began searching out ingredients for a quick meal, a grin still on his face. Danny watched him for a moment before realizing that he wasn't sensing a mask; this was Caleb unguarded, shields down and perfect neutrality set aside. Was Jazz right after all? Did the android really have some kind of bond to him that made him more open around him?

Gah, too many questions.

"Well, if it's not to turn everyone into a halfa, why does Nebilim care about me more than you?" Danny finally muttered in annoyance, dropping his chin into a hand as he sat, lotus position, against the wall. A flicker on Caleb's face, and he felt the first layers of his wall come back up again. That was too bad; Danny would have liked to keep the wall gone -better chance to find out more about the android- but he needed to know what was going on, and Caleb was the only one who had any kind of clue what Nebilim could be up to. "I said host body and you jumped, thinking it was you. But they meant me, and you're still twitching." the halfa went on, musing aloud, "Nebilim's got his sights on me, but you're acting like... well, like he's looking at both of us. But, he's not. ...Is he?"

"It's complicated. Ignore it." Caleb muttered warningly. Danny glared at him, eyes going from blue to vivid yellow-green until the android sighed harshly, shaking his head. "You don't want to know. Trust me. **I** didn't want to know, but I know, and every day I wish I didn't know. So believe me... You **don't** wanna know."

"I told you. I don't want to go into this without knowing exactly what I'm getting into, me and my friends and family." Danny growled back, "My family's out there! Everyone I know, who lives in my town, is out there! And they're gonna get these stupid Cruxis Crystal things put on them because of whatever scheme Nebilim's got going!" Caleb stiffened, halting his work on the plate of sandwiches, and Danny found himself growing suspicious of that. "You... you already knew. Didn't you?"

"I overheard a pair talking about conducting research on the humans held captive. That's why I was trying to find you; well, more reason than just wanting to get you back where I could see you." the android returned grimly, "Welgaia is not a pleasant place in this time. It's not like the Welgaia I know currently, where I'm in control."

"Then... you know where they are? The people, and my parents?" Danny asked eagerly, "We can go rescue them!"

"Cell Blocks A and B. They're well secured." Caleb murmured, holding the plate of sandwiches out to the boy almost absently, "Posted guards, security locks and shields in place; they're designed to be cages, very pretty cages."

Danny mused over that for a moment. Security locks, that sounded familiar. Wait, didn't that angel's friend say something about cell locks?

"We can release the locks if you put in the password." Danny said aloud, catching the android by surprise, "That guy said so. Wouldn't that mean that there's a computer somewhere that connects to the cells?" He snapped his fingers, remembering the strange terminal that was guarded by the red angels. "Ah hah! I think I know the place! I passed it by while looking for the people!" Cheered, he dug into the meal offered to him.

"All things considered, yes. There should be a control terminal that operates the locks on the cells nearby." Caleb agreed uncertainly, "But why would I know the password? It could be different from the old password I knew, seeing as this Welgaia is one that Nebilim created." Danny nodded, wolfing down the sandwiches one after another before speaking again.

"They gave me a hint. Said to tell you that it has something to do with the revival of Mithos Yggdrasill." he added, head still bent to work on the last sandwich so he completely missed the sudden horrified expression on Caleb's face. It was gone, masked over, by the time the halfa could focus on him again. "What's that all about anyway? Mithos is gone for good, right? And Martel's not one to let him be revived, considering all the evil things he did to the world and the people and everything."

Caleb didn't answer, just gazed down at the floor with some strange expression that flickered over his face. A split second of it, that was all, but it was enough to get Danny suspicious again. That face; it had guilt written all over it.

"He **is** gone, right?" Danny pressed, frowning, "Mithos can't be revived; he'll destroy the whole world again. So, Martel sealed him up, right? So he can't be revived? Mithos doesn't exist anymore, right?"

"...I hope he doesn't." Caleb murmured at last, "I really, really hope so. But I wonder sometimes. Just... sometimes." He gave a limp little shrug, halfhearted and somewhat depressed. "I don't like thinking about Mithos; he's... he scares me. A lot."

"But he's dead, and you never met him before." Danny pointed out in confusion. Caleb chuckled, dry and hollow and strange, far different from the laughter of before.

"Oh, Danny," he murmured softly, "I really wish I can believe you when you say that. It would make my life so much more bearable."


	20. Chapter 20

20

Tucker spent a good ten minutes just sitting on the floor, panting and sweating after he and Sam finally ran over the moving walkway to stable ground again. Going against the motion had been a real workout, and the techno-geek was paying for his lack of physical fitness. Sam stood by him, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for him to recover.

"See? This wouldn't be happening if you and Danny worked out more." she pointed out with a faintly smug grin on her face. Tucker gave her a glare in response, tempered with the fact that this was something they'd gone over so much that it was routine for them.

"Ghost hunting's enough of a work out, thanks. I'd rather stay back and let my tech do the talking for me." he replied, then stiffened and twisted in place quickly, patting his pockets. "Oh, good. Still there." he sighed in relief, pushing the lens further down to keep it from falling out, "Thought it felt a bit loose."

"Can we get going now? If we move now, we might be able to pick up Danny's or Caleb's trail from that blast in the building." Sam pointed out. Tucker waved at her dismissively.

"Yeah, yeah. Okay, I got my wind back. Let's go." he returned, getting to his feet, "Don't get your robes in a bunch... ow!" He rubbed at his arm where the Goth had punched him. "Geez, touchy."

They headed out at a light jog, faster than walking but less energy-consuming than running and with Welgaia being so big and unfamiliar and full of angels that didn't seem too keen on being welcoming of them, they needed all the energy they could retain just in case of a fight. Sam looked through the textbook again as they followed the walkway back to the damaged tower, still holding out hope that there might be a map of some sort hidden in its pages. There wasn't, but she read up on the events that transpired there, about the race to find the mana fragment, the frantic escape from the city of angels, the discovery of the Eternal Sword, and the attack on Yggdrasill that revealed his identity as Mithos to the little half-elf named Genis, who seemed stunned and almost heartbroken at the thought.

"Lloyd and his friends came up here a lot of times, not just for the mana fragment either. At one point, they thought they were going to have a final battle, but Zelos betrayed them and Colette got taken away to have Martel's soul implanted in her. Lloyd thought he'd lost all his friends along the way to the top of the Tower of Salvation, and then when an arrow was shot at him, his life was saved because of the Cruxis Crystal Zelos had given him before the betrayal as a sign of friendship." Sam remarked in surprise, looking up from the book to check their surroundings while Tucker continued leading the way, the boy not distracted for once by his PDA.

"Is that when Martel tried to talk Yggdrasill out of being such a nut and then went back to the Seed?" he asked in a tone that sounded more like he wasn't really interested in the story.

"Yup, and the guy snapped and tried taking off with the Seed. Lloyd's friends all showed up at that point, rescued by Zelos, who had been pretending to betray them so he could get some magic rock for them, and all of them joined up to give Mithos a beat down. His body vanished at the end of the battle and Genis kept his Cruxis Crystal as a memento." she finished reading and frowned, "Wait, if he did that, then Mithos would still be capable of taking over another body." She flipped the pages and nodded slowly, "And he did. Right here, at the seal for Origin, he tried to possess Lloyd, but Zelos snatched the Crystal and he got possessed instead and everyone went chasing after him in the real final battle. From there we get the idea of who won; Lloyd destroyed the Crystal in the end."

"No more Mithos. Doesn't help us figure out where the heck we are in this crazy place." Tucker sighed, stopping at a large pile of debris that peppered the city streets, "We're here, at the place where that blast went off." He looked around, then squinted at the distance, "And that looks like a trail of bodies over there. As gross as this sounds, our best bet would probably be to follow that. Danny shouldn't be responsible, but I wouldn't put it past Caleb to drop a bunch of angels just because they creep him out."

"That's just the thing. I didn't read this part last time. 'Fragments of light from the shattered stone drifted towards Lloyd's Exsphere, infusing him with their shining glory as he wept silent tears for the fallen hero. For as much as the young swordsman hated what the ancient boy had done, he still wished for his enemy to have chosen a life of peace alongside them in the world they were about to reunite.'" Sam declared, jogging to catch up to Tucker as they skirted around the scattered angels in their continued search for their friends, "You know what this means? Mithos could have transferred his soul into Lloyd's Exsphere!"

"Did Lloyd go crazy later and try to kill a bunch of people?" Tucker asked dryly.

"A few years later, a Lloyd imposter ran around slaughtering the people of Palmacosta, but that's about it." the girl shot back with equal dryness, "But that doesn't count. I'm going to keep searching; Lloyd must have shown some sign of possession if Mithos got to him."

They went back to their jog in silence, following the somewhat gruesome trail -it was just creepy to see how there was very little blood anywhere on the dead angels- and keeping on the alert to signs of approaching enemies, monsters or, hopefully, their missing friends. Eventually, the trail stopped abruptly and Tucker dug in his heels, causing the Goth behind him to run into his back and give a soft grunt of annoyance.

"What the-? Why'd we stop?" she demanded and Tucker only looked around himself suspiciously before turning his gaze upward. He whistled and Sam couldn't help but look up to see what he found so fascinating. She, too, gave a low whistle.

High above them, burned into the faces of the towers, were hundreds of shadows, familiar figures of angels overlapping one another and blackening the cracked white marble and silvery metal buildings.

"Man. That fork is **lethal**!" Tucker laughed in wonder, "Just what the heck does the Wonder Chef get into that has him packing a portable nuke? He just cooks for people and teaches them recipes, right?"

"Read the book, Tucker." Sam sighed irritably and bent to her own pages of text, "According to this, the Great Seed was pretty much dead when Lloyd tried to awaken it for creating the new Mana Tree, but a shimmer of light flowed from his Exsphere towards it and the Seed seemed to respond to that. Lloyd then used the Eternal Sword to awaken the Seed and the new Tree sprouted from it, taking over Tabatha in the process to create the Guardian Spirit Martel." She clapped the book shut and rubbed at her chin in consideration. "So Mithos could have transferred himself out of Lloyd and into the Seed... but why? To be with his sister in the Seed? Does this mean he really is sealed inside Martel?" she mused aloud.

Tucker ignored the story, preferring to circle around the area where the shadows were burned into the buildings in hopes of picking up a new trail. It was obvious now that they were definitely following Caleb, and since Caleb was searching for Danny, finding the android meant they'd have a better chance of finding the phantom as well. Ah, over there! Another dead angel; joy. He went back to Sam and steered her by her shoulders over to the new trail. The sooner they got those two back in the ranks, the sooner they could all go and help Jazz and Valerie bust out the kidnapped people.

* * *

Danny sighed as he rested his head back against the flat sheet of metal behind him. Caleb had put together some kind of little divider and sat behind it with his satchel, saying something about making some more repairs.

"Why don't you just use the Pin again? Like you did back in Tucker's level?" he called over his shoulder. The sounds of metal scraping metal and the buzzing of other tools made him feel twitchy, his mind jumping to the mental image of a man performing an operation on himself with no anesthesia.

"I want to conserve its power. We need to use some to get those people out of here and I don't know how many were taken so I don't know how much it'll take to send them home." Caleb returned casually, oblivious to Danny's thoughts of self-dissection, "Plus, I still need an amount to get us all out of here when we light the altar with the Soulfire. I mean, **I** don't want to get burned alive here; do you?" Danny made some grunt in the negative and the buzzing went on. "Well, there you are then."

There had been an awkward sort of silence after Caleb's admittance that he didn't really know if Mithos was truly gone and Danny's suspicion that he actually did, but wasn't gonna talk about it. To get past it, the halfa pointed out the robes and Caleb had changed his clothing back to his normal green servant's clothes, mumbling almost embarrassedly that he'd been trying to blend in and did a pretty bad job of it.

"So who is this Huron guy that weirdo angel was talking about?" Danny asked, settling back down again after chasing out that mental image. He still had questions to be answered, mostly about the different angels, and it seemed like a fairly safe topic. Anything else just had Caleb clam up again and that was really grating on his nerves. Can't exactly trust someone with your life and the lives of your friends if they kept shoving you away every time you slip up on your manners or whatever.

"Mm. He was a friend of mine, sort of. Back in Symphonia, when I came to Welgaia to record its data, I ran into some angel leaders that were having a feud. Huron was the leader of the Angels of Welgaia, mostly researchers and scientists that wanted nothing more to do with Symphonia or Mithos's plans." Caleb explained in slow, careful words, "After I got involved with them, the angels split into two factions; Huron's Angel Force, who supported me and chose to help me stay away from the Angels of Vinhelm, and the Angels of Welgaia, who wanted nothing to do with me either. Huron wore green robes, so green angels here are his faction. The Angels of Welgaia were scientists who ruled by votes, so they had no leader and they wore blue to blend in with the city."

"And the gold and red angels?" Danny pressed. The buzzing faded, replaced with the soft clinks of metal on metal, not scraping but more like tapping.

"The red angels are the Angels of Vinhelm, once led by a female war general named Lord Tsaneir. She was the first angel leader I met in Derris-Kharlan, and she wore red and black armor." the android finally replied, that same careful tone in his voice. Danny recognized it now as his way of picking his words and information; obviously there was more to this than he was telling, but why he was holding back was still unknown to the boy, and it annoyed him to some degree. How could this guy bond to him, and **still** not trust him? "The gold angels are Angels of Yggdrasill, the original angels that followed his orders before his death. They mostly hung out in the Tower of Salvation's upper levels, supporting Mithos until they were destroyed with the tower."

"Why did the gold angels call you an imposter?" Danny asked, wondering what exactly the android was doing on the other side of the divide.

"...I don't know." Caleb murmured back, the sounds of cloth shifting about made Danny think he was fidgeting, which very probably meant that what he just said was a lie, "The damages weren't as bad as I initially believed. I would say my count would be more accurate at about twenty-five percent. Too bad healing spells don't work the same on me as they do for the rest of you."

_'And here we go with the subject change. Would it be a sin to want to kick some sense into your head?'_ Danny sighed harshly and pushed himself up from the floor, rubbing the numbness from the seat of his pants while he waited for the android to make himself decent and come out of hiding. At least he was better than he'd been before; Danny had worried about the panting from earlier. It sounded more like a struggle to maintain the illusion of fake breathing than an actual struggle **to** breathe, considering Caleb didn't really need air and all...

"For someone who seems to have such an attachment to me, you sure as heck don't have much trust in me." he griped, folding his arms at the surprised look on Caleb's face, "How can I really trust you if you can't trust me?" He almost backed off when a faint look of dismay crossed the android's face.

"Can't you just take my information on good faith and leave the rest be?" the redhead sighed, adjusting the strap of his bag on his shoulder.

Almost, but that there killed it.

"I wanna hear more about your life story. You can tell me about it while we get to the terminal I found." Danny told him, poking a finger at Caleb's stomach sternly, "Pick up from that fruit thing in the ruins. Maybe I'll call it square once I hear some more."

"I could just feed you a line of bull. What about that?"

"Then I won't take anything you say from here on 'on good faith'. Ha!"

"Fine. Goddess, you're almost as bad as Wren was when it came to traveling together." Caleb grumbled, reaching out to spin the boy around with one hand and pushing him to the door, ignoring the triumphant grin on Danny's face, "So we were on our way to Martel's place to ask Orator about some new recipes. It took us another couple of days to reach it..."

* * *

The two of them had only just reached the building where Danny had seen the terminal when the boy gave a startled yelp at one point in the tales Caleb recounted of his life. Annoyed by the sound, Caleb leveled a glare at him.

"Now what?" he muttered.

"That part! I get it now! I think." the halfa returned excitedly, eyes darting around in physical response to his thoughts racing around madly in his head, "Where you refused to let the Wonder Chef go to Altamira by himself even though he told you he'd go first and you were supposed to follow him... I get it! That's why you needed the soul!"

Caleb's glare shifted to a confused expression, head tilting to one side. Danny stared at him. Didn't the guy get it? Or, was it possible that he just never thought about it at all? Was he really **that** dense? He threw his hands up, letting out a frustrated half-growl, half-shriek.

"You needed free will, man! Before the soul thing, what would you have done if you were gonna go visit Martel and that Altessa guy said no?" he demanded of the android. Caleb blinked at him, still baffled, but he looked aside in consideration a moment later, green eyes shining as he searched through his memories to form his answer.

"At the time... I would have followed Master Altessa's command... and stayed home." he finally murmured.

"What if you really, really wanted to go?"

"I... still wouldn't have gone."

"What if Martel had been in trouble? Like someone was attacking her and you were the only one who could help and Altessa didn't know?"

Caleb halted dead in his tracks, glaring at his feet as the green grew brighter, a frantic run of calculating, checking, searching. Danny stood before him, arms folded over his chest as he cocked his head to one side, a semi-impatient expression on his face. A minute went by, then another, and still Caleb stood there, silent and focused almost entirely on that final question.

"You wouldn't have gone." Danny finally answered for him in a flat voice, "You'd have stayed home and let her die." The redhead snapped out of his search at the sound of his voice, staring at him with wide eyes.

"N-no! I would have helped her!" he protested. Danny shook his head.

"Not back then, when you didn't have a soul that gave you free will. You told Zelos that you could do what you liked _as long as it didn't interfere _with your work for Altessa." he pointed out, "So if he told you no, you would have no choice but to follow his order because you were still going by commands given by a master. You could think and be aware and suggest things, but if you got an order to shut up, you shut up, like _that_!" Danny snapped his fingers and Caleb cringed before shaking his head furiously.

"So what the hell was the point of you trying to mind melt me with that line of questioning?" he growled, bending to glare at the boy eye to eye. Danny only grinned, the smug and mischievous one that Danny Phantom usually wore when he was getting the upper hand in battle.

"That's why Martel gave you a soul. To have the power to go against an order so lives can be saved. If you didn't have that soul, the Wonder Chef wouldn't have survived your first adventure." he replied smartly.

Caleb thumped him on the forehead.

"She should have been choosier about the one she gave me then." he grumbled, walking past Danny as he rubbed at the sore spot, "Now let's get going and find that terminal! Those people won't save themselves while you're here trying to break my head on stupid questions!"

_'Tch! Touchy, touchy! But at least that's one question that won't be bugging me anymore. Next, why does he get all uber-quiet about certain parts of his past, and two, what does he know about what really happened to Mithos?'_

"Hey! Wait up!" Danny exclaimed, jogging after the android.

* * *

The elevator ride was boring.

Danny sighed and leaned back against the wall of the little room as it headed up to the appropriate floor. He had wanted to fly up straight through as his ghostly self, but Caleb had pointed out that he couldn't do that and **who** was supposed to be the one to put in the password again? Danny felt kind of dumb about that for a bit and begrudgingly went along with the elevator ride, but it didn't have music and the android seemed perfectly fine with just standing there in absolute silence. Danny didn't like absolute silence; dead air tended to surround him just before something _really_ bad came at him, like one of Vlad's little plots to kill his father and marry his mother, or something equally as traumatic.

"So what was it like the first time you came into the Book?" he suddenly asked. Caleb gave him a strange look.

"Well, **that** came outta nowhere. What brought that up?" he returned.

"Nebilim said he remembered you, so I figured you must have gone through the Book once before. What was it like then?" the halfa told him in confusion.

"Danny, I've never been inside a Book of the Underworld." Caleb replied with an equally confused expression, "This is my first time." Danny gaped at him.

"But...! But then how does Nebilim know you?" he cried. The android shrugged.

"He recognized my mana, probably. It comes from the soul I have." he remarked, then stiffened and shook his head, "Forget that."

"If he remembers you from that, then wouldn't that mean that the person you were before you became Caleb also went through the Book? So this is actually your second time?" Danny asked in confusion.

The android glared at him, arms folding over his chest.

"No, it's **not**. We don't share the experiences, so this is still my first time." he growled, "I've always been Caleb, I've always been an android; I don't have any 'previous life' crap. I'm different from the soul inside me." Danny made a face at that.

"That doesn't make any sense! It's like you're a walking Fenton Thermos holding a soul prisoner for, like, forever, or something!" he complained, "Shouldn't your soul be really yours and define who you are as a person?"

"If it does, I'm committing suicide at the end of this." Caleb grumbled under his breath as he turned back to facing the doors, and the walls around him built back up even thicker. Danny scowled, kicking at the floor and leaving a scuff mark on the shimmering metal.

Elevator rides were so boring.

* * *

"Are you sure this is the place?" Caleb questioned once they entered the room that held the terminal. Danny looked around himself. The walls were still stacked with those huge containers full of Exspheres, the computer still sat against the far wall, its screen glowing soft blue; this was definitely the place he'd flown into earlier in the day.

"Yeah. This is it." he told the android and pointed at the terminal, "That's the computer I saw." Caleb still looked a little unsure.

"Why is it unguarded then?" he wondered aloud, but he was walking towards the terminal despite that uncertain expression.

"Gift horse. Mouth. Shut up." Danny remarked dryly, jogging over to watch him enter the password. "You remember it, right? The clue is 'the path to the revival of Mithos'."

"Quit talking about Mithos. You know he scares me." Caleb grumbled, tapping at the keys before himself. Strange characters appeared on the screen as he typed and Danny crossed his eyes at the weird language. It looked kind of like the symbols that appeared whenever they had to undergo a Trial. What did Caleb call it? Angelic language?

"What's that say?" he asked, pointing at a line that was just typed out.

"That's the date." Caleb replied distractedly, still typing away. Another string of characters appeared on the screen and Danny pointed towards it.

"And that?"

"My name."

"You're the password?"

"What? NO! I have to identify myself to the network, you little... never mind! Shut up!" The typing went on.

"What does that say?"

"It's asking which cell blocks I want to access."

"It takes all those to ask that?"

"Not really, the other lines are the various cell blocks that are connected to this terminal."

"Oh. What about that?"

"What?"

_"That."_ A finger jabbed at the screen, smearing oil over the display and slightly distorting the characters.

Caleb smacked the hand away lightly before rubbing the screen clean with the end of his sleeve. Danny watched his expression carefully; the android looked annoyed, but the corners of his mouth were twitching up in a faintly amused smile. Some of the walls came down.

"That's the password entry command. That's what I was going for. Now stop poking at..."

"What does that say?" Jab.

Caleb smacked his hand again and Danny smacked back with a grin. This was kinda fun; getting on his nerves without actually getting on his nerves. Eventually the android pushed him away from the terminal and sat him on one of the smaller crates scattered around the room.

"Stay." Caleb told him with a smirk before heading back, "You really are like Wren; annoying when there's no immediate danger!" As soon as he started typing again, Danny bounced over to his side to watch the screen. "If you start poking at the screen again, Martel help me..."

"What does that say?" Danny interrupted, narrowing his eyes at the characters filling the password box, "That's the path to the revival of Mithos, right?" He looked up at the android as Caleb sighed, a strangely mournful sound.

"Once upon a time, that would have been the way. But things happened and the plan for reviving Mithos collapsed. The Angels of Vinhelm didn't believe so, and they continued pursuing that path up until they were all destroyed." he muttered and closed the box, letting the computer process his entry. Danny tilted his head, rolling his eyes as he thought it over.

"Is that why they were after you? You had some part in it?" he asked suspiciously. Caleb gestured vaguely with one hand.

"Sort of? Most of the time I wasn't too sure about that, though you could say I was in denial. What they were after when it came to me, at least in the beginning, were the records that detailed the plan. I stole those and erased the other copies because I didn't want Mithos revived." he finally explained and rubbed the back of his neck almost nervously, "Things still didn't work out. I don't like remembering that part." Danny gave him a wide-eyed look that seemed too big for his face.

"Mithos came back to life anyway?" he asked in a tiny voice.

"Almost. Everyone cut it pretty close but that got avoided just barely." Caleb muttered, turning away to prop his chin on the heel of his hand, using the terminal as a stable place to rest on, "Wren was nearly driven insane, I almost died, Huron was killed and Lloyd could never quite look me in the eyes from then on, but compared to having Mithos alive again, those were wounds we were glad to live with." He glanced back at the boy, who looked distinctly uncomfortable with the answers he got. "We done with digging into my past now? I told you, I **don't** like talking about him."

"Sorry." Danny apologized, wincing at the sudden frantic beeping from the terminal. Caleb straightened and peered at the screen, reading over the lines of angelic text that suddenly appeared. "So, are the cells open? We can go and get everyone out now, right?"

"What... the... hell?" the android murmured before suddenly slamming a fist down against the keys with a sharp angelic curse, "It was booby-trapped! The cell blocks are open, but a squad of machines got summoned to them!"

"What?" Danny blurted, confused and startled all at once, "What does that mean?"

"We've been had! I **knew** there was something wrong with all this!" Caleb growled, grabbing him by the arm and running back out of the room, "That was an order of execution I just sent out, not a cell release code! Nebilim pulls all the strings here; we can't even trust those that look like they're helping us!"

"My parents are gonna be _executed_?" the halfa shrieked in alarm, struggling to keep up.

"If we don't get to them before those machines do, **yes**!"

* * *

Tucker scratched at his head, looking around in confusion. He and Sam had followed the second trail of fallen angels, but it wasn't so much a trail as it was a couple of beaten down angels and lots of feathers that were scattered about, as though a whole flock of them had been flapping their wings in a frantic attempt to catch up to someone, most probably Caleb if they held grudges against people carrying around nuclear spells. Only now the trail was cold and they still hadn't found either one of their friends.

He looked over his shoulder at Sam, who finally set aside the book and now scanned the area with him. The entire trek she'd been fuming silently, flipping through pages in her constant search for one of two things; why Danny had been catching fire whenever torches were lit, and whether Mithos's soul really was sealed away after the new Tree sprouted. From the vein that threatened to pop from her forehead, Tucker could guess that she didn't find any answers, at least not any that she would accept. Rather than rip the book to pieces in a fury -with a possibility of regretting it later-, Sam just jammed the thing into her backpack and took to glaring at the mess of feathers.

"I thought this was a city for angels, not an aviary for giant molting pigeons!" she snapped waspishly as she kicked at a pile of the white and black feathers, "Where the heck are Danny and Caleb?"

"Asking that every five minutes doesn't bring them out of hiding, y'know." Tucker sighed, "Whatever happened to that whole 'having faith he'll come back on his own' thing you were supposed to learn in your Trial?" Sam punched his arm.

"I've got that in spades! I just don't like the idea of them being off alone for long; what if Caleb starts playing mind games with Danny?" she pointed out crossly. The techno-geek pouted, folding his arms behind his head as he gave the girl a sidelong look.

"I dunno. Between you, Danny and Jazz, I think Caleb's the one being messed with in the head. I don't blame him for being snappy in that case." he mumbled. Sam blinked at him in surprise, then scowled. She lifted an index finger, about ready to argue that, when the door to a building just down the street opened and the very people they'd been talking about raced out. Well, it seemed to them more as though Caleb raced out and was dragging Danny along like a very heavy and very much alive boy-shaped kite.

"Hey! Wait! That's **our** boy-shaped kite!" Sam yelled and took off after them, Tucker yelping in surprise and scrambling after her. Danny seemed to have heard her voice, his head twisting around to catch sight of her. A moment later had him turning intangible to escape Caleb's grip.

Oddly enough, either the teacher didn't notice or didn't care -though Sam was willing to bet on the latter because he didn't let his arm stay in that 'holding a kid's arm' pose like Lancer once did- as he just continued running for a little longer. Then bursts of red fired from his back and Caleb took to the air, flying off as fast as his wings could carry him.

"Wonder what his problem is." Tucker huffed as Danny transformed at a distance and shot towards them, ghostly tail whipping around excitedly.

"Guys! We gotta move! Come on!" the half-ghost cried almost desperately, grabbing their arms and tugging at them.

"What? Why? Danny, what's going on?" Sam blurted out in alarm.

"Must be bad. He hasn't even noticed your outfit!" Tucker joked nervously, a contrast to the equally alarmed expression on his face.

"It's my parents, and everyone else!" Danny babbled, panic on his face, in his voice, in the insistent way he kept tugging until he was dragging his best friends across the metal flooring, "I thought we were releasing the locks on the cells, but they tricked us! They're going to execute them all! We have to go! Before the machines get there!" The tugging grew more insistent, and now they were in the air with Danny, who was racing to catch up to Caleb and follow him to the cell blocks.

"Follow that walkway! It's a direct path!" Sam shouted over the wind, pointing at the moving path that she and Tucker had run onto.

"Where's Jazz and Valerie?" Danny shot back.

"Already at the cells!"

* * *

The flight was more frantic than any they'd ever been on before, even more than the cross country trip they had taken during the summer. But the walkway led them to the platform where Jazz and Valerie had taken off to reach the cells and from there, Danny abruptly turned to scan the cell blocks.

The clear walls were gone now and both Jazz and Valerie were hurriedly directing the people out and onto the elevators, discs rising and falling at steady intervals. They drew closer, watching the teenagers from Casper High point at them with surprise and awe while Danny set Sam and Tucker down on the lower levels of the cell blocks.

"I don't see Caleb anywhere. Shouldn't he have gotten here before us?" Sam asked in confusion, scanning the skyline for red wings.

"He might be stalling the machines that are coming this way to execute everyone." Danny huffed. He shook himself off, took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly before turning to his friends. "Anyway, we've got time we didn't have. Sam, Tucker, you guys get everyone that comes down here to a safe spot. Maybe inside one of these buildings?"

"That could work. There were a bunch of weapons inside the one we were in; maybe there's more in these other ones. We can use them to have everyone defend themselves in case Caleb can't stop those things." Tucker pointed out to Sam. She nodded in agreement and the two of them darted off to direct the flow of incoming people. Danny gave a little sigh of relief before turning his attention back to the upper levels. Jazz and Valerie were up there; they could probably use some help, and maybe Jazz got their parents out first so he wouldn't have to worry about stray shots.

Heading up, he gave the open cells a quick scan, searching for the familiar blue and orange jumpsuits that would give him some warning to stay agile while also seeking out his sister and rival hunter. Whoops; there they are.

"GHOST!" Green beams lanced through the air and Danny ducked, flailing about before diving down out of range.

_'Aw man, Jazz! Get Dad outta there! I don't wanna get hit by anything! And get Mom while you're at it; she hits harder!'_

"Sorry, Danny! Stay down there until things are clear up here!" Jazz called down after him.

"Or you could come up here and have a little heart to heart with Fentons!" Valerie sneered from above, "Oh, that's right! Ghosts don't **have** hearts! Ha ha!"

"Ugh, geez. What's it gonna take for her to get the idea that not all ghosts are evil little monsters bent on world domination, just her fruit loop of a boss?" Danny sighed harshly, folding his arms over his chest.

A blast went off nearby and he jerked his head in its direction, watching with a startled expression as the lines of escapees began to run and scream in a panic, stampeding towards the safe zones Sam kept waving towards. A tower nearby had been hit with something, clouds of thick, dark smoke curling into the air. What the heck caused **that**? He scanned the air nearby when something sparkled and caught his eye.

A group -no, a squadron- of dirty silver machines seemed to be bent on flying their way, what looked like a dozen little ones flitting about madly and firing off blue-white shots in rapid fire sequence. There were at least four that looked kind of human shaped from this distance, a large round sphere where legs should be attached to the body and thick, blade-like arms that kept opening and firing after something. There were jets of blue light bursting from their backs, sort of like what the mana did to Caleb's back before they shaped themselves into the 'feathers' for his wings. And finally, there was one really massive machine just kind of crouching on a floating platform, like an armored bullfrog of sorts. Evil looking guns gleamed where they took their place as its arms, and Danny figured that weird shape to its chest meant there was some kind of cannon in there, if those anime marathons Sam had him watch with her gave any indication about what went into big machines of doom and destruction.

"No way..." Danny breathed, dread filling him, "Are **those** the things that got summoned here?" And Caleb was pitting himself against them? In the _air_? With **no** magic to help him? He searched the sky quickly. Where was he anyway?

A streak of red and green shot into view from behind the squad of machines, turning swiftly in the air and diving to avoid the multitude of bright laser fire chasing after him. No doubt, that had to be him. The four 'blade' machines -Danny didn't know what to call them but figured Caleb would know- immediately dove after him, continuing their barrage while the little machines swarmed around the bullfrog one in a protective huddle. That didn't seem like a good sign.

Well, time to do the hero thing. Danny headed in the direction of the incoming execution squad, charging up for the Ghost Ray and ready to switch it into a shield just in case anything happened.

"Hang on! Help's on the way!" he yelled out just as Caleb pulled back up from the dive and seemed to ram his shoulder into the underside of the platform, "Hey! What are you doing?" It wobbled, but then steadied again and the bullfrog spun around to fire a few shots before spinning back around to face the front. Danny shook himself out of an open-mouthed gape; that idiot was going to smash himself to pieces doing that! Rushing to prevent that and help stop what looked to be the android's main target, the half-ghost pulled up before the huddle of machines and fired both Ghost Rays into them, hoping the Light element in his armlets was enough to let him deal any amount of damage to the machines. Some of the little ones staggered, losing speed or dropping out of the air for a few feet before kicking back on, but the platform with the bullfrog just kept moving. In fact, its little head with the glowing blue eye swiveled to lock onto him, and it opened little doors and hatches on its thick legs and from behind itself, firing a quantity of bright red missiles directly at him.

"Aw man. I thought I only had to deal with those from Valerie!" Danny moaned, quickly putting up a shield to hold back the blasts. Well, now he had an idea why Caleb was so keen on knocking **that** one out of the sky.

* * *

"Mom, Dad! You have to go! Come on, there's a lot of people here who need to get to safety! Sam and Tucker should already be at ground level, helping us out!" Jazz tried to reason with her parents again.

"Not until you explain what's going on, young lady!" Maddie lectured sternly, "Why on earth are you in this... this strange dimension... when you should be at home and looking after your brother?"

"More importantly," Jack interrupted in similar tone, though his eyes kept darting back and forth in search of his target, "why was that ghost kid here? Is this another of his plots?" Jazz shook her head with a sigh.

"Nah, this freak show's being run by some guy calling himself Nebilim, King of the Underworld." Valerie answered in her place as she checked over her rifle. She snorted in disdain. "Though I wouldn't put it past the spook to try to turn the whole thing into one of his ploys once we get rid of Nebilim."

"Valerie~." Jazz stretched the name in annoyance as she growled it under her breath, "**Not** helping." She turned to Mr. Lancer, hoping he would understand her sense more readily. "Look, we entered this 'dimension' in order to get all of you out of here! We know how stop the **real** cause of this mayhem, but in order to accomplish that goal all of you have to escape this place!"

"And escape we will, Miss Fenton, but we certainly can't let you children continue traipsing around in this dangerous environment." the teacher pointed out firmly, "If there's an escape route back to Amity Park, rest assured that we will **all** be taking it."

Jazz groaned internally. Why were they so hard to reason with during times of crisis? Probably because they didn't know what the situation really was.

"How did you even get here?" Maddie asked suddenly, breaking Jazz's line of thought with her puzzled tone, "Every person that's come into this strange place was brought by those ghosts that don't react to any of our technology, and they are all trapped in these cells."

"That would be Caleb. He asked his sister to drop us off here." Valerie cheerfully volunteered, giving Jazz a 'I am totally getting even with him fixing my guns by ratting him out' look. The carrot-top wondered if getting past her sin of shame freed her up for committing the sin of murder, since Valerie was asking for it so sweetly.

"The mythology teacher?" Maddie questioned in surprise and disbelief, one hand flying up to her cheek, "**He** got you into this?"

"I knew he was up to something funny." Jack grumbled, massive fists shaking with the eagerness to take action, "Those green eyes are the eyes of a **ghost**!"

"Dad, please, don't embarrass us here." Jazz pleaded, " Caleb's not a ghost. I mean, he didn't set off the ghost alarms in the house, right?"

"Our ghost equipment isn't registering _anything_ in this dimension." Maddie mused aloud, eyeing her Fenton Ghost Finder with a faintly betrayed glare. Jack looked between his wife and daughter in confusion, scratching the back of his head as he took in the pieces of information.

"So... he's _not_ a ghost...?" he asked in that plaintive voice that characteristically meant he was hoping that the real answer was 'Insert-name-here **is** a ghost; go shoot them'. Valerie just laughed, giving Jazz yet another reason more to want to push her out of the cell. What damaging thing was she about to reveal now?

"Oh, he's one better. He's an angel, people; a mechanical angel, and a living one to boot." she pointed out, resting a fist on one hip. Everyone stared at her for a minute before the three adults began laughing.

"An angel? Sweetie, angels are mythical creatures; they can't be proven by science like ghosts!" Maddie pointed out with the patient smile of a long-suffering woman, "And we don't have the technology yet to build life-like robots."

"_I, Robot_, indeed!" Mr. Lancer agreed, wiping away a tear, "You almost had us there." He waited until everyone was calmed, then gestured towards the elevator. "Now, if you don't mind, I believe we're the last group to get out of this cell, so let's be on our way." With that, he headed for the glowing disc, trusting in the Fentons to herd their daughter along as well. Valerie wiggled her fingers at the protesting carrot-top as she hopped back onto her hoverboard.

"Bye bye, Jazz. Don't worry. I'll take care of that little spook problem for your parents. After all," she purred and held up a small ecto-gun bearing the Fenton logo on it, "I just so happened to have asked to borrow one of their ghost hunting weapons to do the job while you were getting Dash and his pals onto the elevator, and I know for a fact that **these** guns aren't patched by Caleb's sneaky tricks." Grinning smugly behind her mask, Valerie took off, ignoring that last horrified look on Jazz's face.

It was for the best, after all. If Nebilim was gonna try to use ghosts to take over Amity Park and the world, then the fewer ghosts he got, the easier it would be to take him out. And who said she couldn't have some fun while 'cleaning up'?


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: The majority of the Robots' Report aerial fight was penned by my husband/editor, and I added in all the necessary details to bring it to life. I have the hardest time with dogfights and air combat scenes, but he's a natural with them. So this chapter is a collaboration work between us both and all reviews about it will be taken to heart by the two of us. Thank you and enjoy the chapter!

* * *

21

Shortly after order of execution~

_EX1-4: Executioner Squads 1 through 4_

_STU: Standard Time Unit_

_RTB: Return to Base_

* * *

Log 0-11720-10

Central: _Status update: EX1 Away, EX2 Away, EX3 Deploying, EX4 Deploying. ETA: 15 STU._

Dirty silver seemed to gleam as the executioner squads made their way towards Cell Blocks A and B to complete the order. Two Perfect Murders, four Murders, and ten Raybits; a sizable force with plenty of firepower for a massacre. Somewhere in the distance, Nebilim laughed in anticipated victory. With the deployment of the four squads, it was certain that the Fallen Angel was fully aware that he had signed the death warrants for nearly a hundred human lives.

EX4-Ry5: _Unknown contact approaching from sector 5 on intercept course. Contact traveling at velocity of R13. Interception in 0.5 STU._

Or perhaps he still believed he could save them all?

Central: _Received._

One of the Murder units twisted its head around to search the entire range of vision it possessed, which was limited to whatever was in front of itself and a decent portion of its left and right sides.

It finally decided to just turn around and check from the back.

EX4-Mu2: _Contact identified: FA Rev-M._

Hidden cameras scattered around points of Welgaia in close range to the Murder unit suddenly swiveled around and focused on the little figure shooting right for the two rear squadrons. Red hair, red wings, and green clothes were the first major details captured by their lenses, and as it drew closer, more information was gathered and sent back to their base of command. It was analyzed and compared to a ready image for identification, all in the span of a few moments.

Central: _Confirmed. EX4, EX3, all Mu units break formation and engage target designated "Rev-M". All Ry units provide cover fire._

The small, disc-like Raybits turned in place, opening fire in sporadic bursts that the winged figure evaded quickly, all while maintaining that rush of speed. Murder units banked away from their charge of defending the Perfect Murders and flew in to intercept Rev-M. It wove around them as the machines spun their massive arms, almost dancing out of their reach and brushing them with mist-light touches of its red wings. Closer and closer the figure came, aiming itself directly at the most immediate-looking threat to Welgaia's prisoners. The Raybits turned to follow its trajectory, keeping up a steady rain of firepower that seemed to fall just short of the figure while pelting the trailing Murders by mistake.

It whipped out a weapon, a giant utensil, and swiped it along the side of one of the cargo carriers supporting the Perfect Murders on their route. Not even stopping to check its handiwork, it sped on, out of range of the Raybits and too fast for the Murders to keep a lock on without the aid of close proximity to the Perfect Murders.

EX3-PM1: _Contact lost. Losing altitude. Carrier thrusters offline._

Cameras turned to watch the bulky machine drop almost straight down, the sabotaged carrier flipping end over end on its way to the streets below.

Central: _Communications with EX3-PM1 lost. Rev-M is disabling carrier thrusters._

The Perfect Murder squatting on the second carrier had twisted its own head around when it first learned the incoming hostile was Rev-M. The sole blue eye locked onto the green figure, watched it slice off Squad 3's Perfect Murder's carrier thrusters, then traced its comrade's figure as it fell several stories down.

It swiveled its head around, one way, then another, searching for Rev-M. The swift motion could almost be considered... panicked.

EX4-PM1: _EX4, EX3, all Ry units, use suppressive firing solution. EX4, EX3, all Mu units, eliminate Rev-M with extreme prejudice._

The Raybits clustered around Squad 4's Perfect Murder, facing guns outward as they kept their sensors free for signs of the hostile little figure. Several of them were smoking, victims of friendly fire, and they sparked while waiting for their opportunity to return the favor.

The Murders sped out to hunt down Rev-M, foregoing mêlee combat for the traditional long-range slaughter only their two main guns and endless ammunition could provide. Sensors focused for the figure so tightly, the images trembled in the video feed being provided to Central.

EX4-Mu2: _Rev-M approaching from sector 11._

It was coming in almost directly opposite its initial run through their ranks, as though it had simply made an about-face and raced back. Murders gathered hurriedly, trying to close their gaps and provide a wall of defense against the agile little hostile.

They opened fire as soon as they registered Rev-M flying right for them with the utensil at the ready.

EX4-Mu1: _Target within secondary cannon firing range._

Odd how that simple phrase could sound so stunned when it was fairly certain these automatons had no emotion.

Central: _Communications lost with EX4-Mu1._

Murder1's comrade had been nearby when the utensil punctured one of the few non-armored places on the robot's body, ripping through cable and circuitry to cut the processing core out and lob it aside like some metallic meatball. Its head twisted to follow the path Rev-M took, body turning as well to realign guns with its target.

Nearby, the Murder Units for Execution Squad 3 were twisting around, trying to get a lock after that initial hit took out one of their numbers. They picked up a glimpse of green on their sensors before the next transmission was sent to Central and relayed to the rest of the squads.

EX4-Mu2: _Stabilizer thrusters offline. Losing altitude. Rev-M closing on EX3-Mu2._

Mana streamed from the disabled robot and wound around the figure's utensil, Rev-M spinning away from the machine towards the next target. Squad 3 fired their thrusters in reverse, falling back to the last Perfect Murder to increase their own accuracy and gain distance for attack. Raybits parted for them, spreading out and immediately catching sight of the hostile figure. Blue-white laser fire rained down once more.

EX3-Mu2: _Contact lost, reacquiring._

Cameras turned away from the swan dive of Execution Squad 4's last Murder unit in favor of watching Squad 3 scramble to pinpoint the little winged threat.

Central: _Communications lost with EX4-Mu2._

No one shed a single tear. Not that anyone could, organic or not, in the city of Welgaia.

The platform on which the final Perfect Murder crouched seemed to tremble, just a bit, and the machine's head swiveled around even faster. It had been following Rev-M since it came back to destroy Squad 3's Murder units. Unlike its lighter, flight-capable counterpart, Perfect Murders could see in 360 degrees by simply spinning its head. However, its blind spots were always directly above and directly below.

Rev-M had made a dive below its line of sight.

EX4-PM1: _Contact lost. Carrier thrusters malfunctioning. Request support._

The transmission was sent, relayed, processed, all very quickly as machines were apt to do things.

Central: _Received. Deploying support. Designation: EX4-Mu3._

EX4-Mu3: _Link established. Velocity set to R15; ETA 1 STU._

Maybe that would quiet the thing down and rid them of their gnat. As it was, EX1 and EX2 were already three-quarters of the way to the cell blocks. One minute or five, it didn't matter. In the end, it would all be moot.

In the meantime, Squad 3's Murder2 unit made the leap of logic in seeking the cause of the carrier's malfunction in order to preserve EX4-PM1 -which now seemed to be stamping slightly like some twitchy child who wanted **off** the pony ride **now**- by dropping altitude just enough to peek under it.

EX3-Mu2: _Rev-M reacquired._

The viewers back at Central were treated to the image of a 'caught with his hands in the cookie jar' expression on their target's face as it pressed the large utensil against the mana fuel relays in the carrier's undercarriage. Then it switched to one of irritation and the utensil was driven into the Murder's torso at an angle, Rev-M using the momentum of that forward thrust to flip the two of them over, kick it off the utensil, and free fall away from its desired results.

EX4-PM1: _WARNING!: COLLISION. Carrier thrusters offline._

EX3-Mu2: _WARNING!: COLLISION. Losing altitude._

It was a rather impressive blast, and the shockwave from it sent nearly everything around it spinning with mechanical disorientation.

EX3-Mu1: _Concussion force explosion detected. Contact with Rev-M lost._ _...Correcting flight path. ...Reacquiring target._

The Raybits weren't of much help there, scattering about like disturbed flies while the cameras simply watched the spectacle unfold and fed all the video back to command.

Central: _Communications with EX3-Mu2 lost. Communications with EX4-PM1 lost._

Nearly everything around the explosion was spinning with mechanical disorientation, save for stubborn target that could not be locked onto for more than ten seconds. It raced through the smoke, using it and the debris as a sensor shield to lash out at the staggering Raybits while they were unable to fire with anything resembling aim.

The Murder unit didn't quite recover from the force as well as Rev-M had.

Central: _Communications with EX3-Mu1 lost. Last transmission: Losing altitude._

Racing onto the scene with all the speed a member of the 'beloved' calvary could possess, the supporting Murder unit immediately set to seeking out the target. It rushed straight on, its head twisting back and forth in swift, sure scans.

EX4-Mu3: _Contact lost, reacquiring._

The smoke hadn't even shown signs of thinning, yet the winged figure that had caused so much trouble for the two Squads flew out of it directly for the incoming Murder. Its utensil was held tightly in both hands, braced against its body, and the two streaked through the air as though an arrow fired from a bow.

EX3-Ry1: _Rev-M approaching EX4-Mu3 from sector 12._

It was a head-on collision, to be sure. The massive against the diminutive; had the bulk and brawn of the Murder3 finally put an end to exploits of Rev-M? Metal had been tore into, components trailing behind like debris from a wounded planetoid hurtling through space.

EX4-Mu3:_ Power supply compartment compromised. Shut down in 0.25 STU._

EX3-Ry1: _Explosion detected from sector 6._

Had anything in Welgaia -besides the living and truly alive, of course- been capable of emotion, they would certainly have felt white-hot fury at seeing Rev-M come out of the encounter in still-functioning capacity.

Central: _Communications lost with EX4-Mu3. EX4, EX3, all Ry units RTB. EX1, EX2, contact Rev-M vectoring for intercept. Increase velocity from R7 to R10._

* * *

Caleb sped away from the falling debris that had been the frantic little skirmish he'd gotten into in hopes of heading off the execution squads. The Raybits had worried him a little -he _really_ hoped they didn't try squeezing off a few potshots at him while he was in this state- but he breathed a little easier when his sensors noted them retreating. That just left the massive number of machines still heading off towards Danny and all his friends, family, and of course, the innocent civilians. He wanted to cry right there at the idea of having to repeat his aerial battle, but tears were for later. Lives had to be saved **now** and despite his internal, ever-pragmatic diagnostic system screaming at him to just touch down and **stop** abusing himself -his damage count had spiked from his real initial count of thirty-eight to fifty-two percent in just those few hectic minutes and he blamed a majority of it on that concussion force explosion-, he raced on as fast as his wings could carry him.

The Wonder Fork had been used to drain mana before, mostly deflecting and redirecting it as needed to sustain the source of its power, and it worked beautifully against those Murders and the carrier when he had the chance to use it for that. The shearing of metal and the stabbing into machines... that kind of grated on him. Just the memory of seeing it stab into his double's body still gave Caleb the creeps; the Fork wasn't ever meant for that sort of thing. _Ohhh_, was he going to be **in** for it the day he gave it back...

Cosmetically, he still looked all right. He might have lost some strands of hair, his hands might have suffered a few rips in the synthetic flesh, but as long as his face was relatively unharmed, it was fine. His face was what Danny and his friends focused on most, judged him by at any given time, was used as the baseline for how 'okay' he was in their line of thinking. He knew this from their vital signs. The more human and normal his face looked to them, the calmer and more sure of him and themselves they seemed to be in the Book. Walk around with a mutilated face and it would be like telling them he had been completely torn into, pitted against something that far overpowered him, in a place that was supposed to be well within his capacity to deal with. It would utterly demoralize the teens, so Caleb had to maintain a pretty face, as vain and stupid as it sounded.

However...

He winced as metal scraped against dislodged metal in one of his legs, he wasn't sure which now, the sensor for it had burnt out some time ago. Repairs being made every chance he was alone weren't enough to catch up to all the damages he hid beneath the pretty face and clothes. And as tempting as it was to use the Pin to sweep it all under the rug and start clean, it couldn't be done. Not until after everyone was out of the Book, when he was certain there was no more dire need for its power, and from there he could still refuse it because then he'd be out of the Book and free to collapse into one of the Archives' sponsored labs and get a full repair there. Until then, he had to swallow it down, cope with the internal errors, lie like crazy about his damage count, and snap at Danny to try keeping him at a distance when it seemed like he was getting too close, lest the boy discover those tiny signs that spilled out in spades how 'not okay' he really was inside.

Too bad he was already starting to get suspicious, and that was just based on Caleb's habit of false breathing. How the heck did that kid learn anything from a habit he didn't even really **need**?

Ah well, he'd ponder it later. Caleb could already see the backs of the next two Perfect Murders sitting on their little modified cargo carriers. He braced himself, ignored the way the color green -or was it red now? Wonderful; how long before **that** fails?- seemed to invert in his right eye, and flew straight for the closest Perfect Murder unit.

* * *

Present time~

The blasts peppered Danny's shield, rattling it and him with their force. He flipped downwards, curled tightly into a small ball to make himself less of a target, then leveled out to scan the sky above him. He could see the large platform passing over him at a steady speed, hurrying along as best it could with the massive weight camped on it. Caleb had tried to hit that thing, tried to flip it over and dump the doom machine onto the streets.

"Maybe I can do it instead." he murmured and raced upward, both fists forward and charging with the Ghost Ray again. Whatever he did must have tipped something off; those weird little machine with the flat round bodies scattered and dove after him, opening fire with the crackling blue-white laser bursts that the android had been so intent on avoiding. Yelping in surprise, he spun and wove around them, stretching his body to twist it more fluidly and bend it out of reach of those shots. One of the benefits of a ghostly form was that ability to distort his shape, briefly, beyond the range of a normal human. Sometimes, he did it without even realizing it, as though more and more of his ghost powers were becoming instinct to him. Danny realized that in a little flash of insight when he glanced aside and saw the bottoms of his boots from about three feet away.

There was a shriek of metal not far off. The halfa swept past the first flock of little machines and twisted around to trace the sound back to where it came from, then fired on one of the flying humanoid robots that flailed in place. It wasn't until the beams of ghostly green hit the thing that his brain kicked in and told his eyes to take another look at it. Why had the metal seemed to scream? Because Caleb had driven his fork into the robot from an angle, the android twisting it in place forcefully before pushing off back into the air, taking the fork and a round grayish chunk of the robot with him. He spun with that, slinging the thing away before rushing off, three more of those blade robots chasing after him.

"Is he allowed to do that with the Wonder Fork?" Danny muttered to himself before shaking his head and turning his focus back on the little ones still trying to spray him with laser fire, "Back off!" He brushed his fingers over the armlets, murmuring for the Light element to lay low and let him use his ice powers again. "Let's see how your microchips like to run!" the halfa yelled, hands glowing brilliant blue, "Red hot... or _frost white!_" He fired the Ice Ray into the swarm of flying guns -because that's all they seemed to be, which was really annoying- and watched a small chunk of that swarm freeze over into blocks, dropping like so much massive hail onto the streets of Welgaia.

Oh, sweet! Ghostly ice worked just fine on these things! Laughing, he rushed ahead to deal with the big one on its platform.

Whoa. Valerie swooped in on her hoverboard, firing rapidly on the squatting bullfrog robot. It returned the fire with its own guns and missiles, forcing her to swerve around and evade the attacks. A quick spray down of his Ice Ray halted some of the missiles from reaching her and he pulled alongside the Red Huntress, grinning.

"You're late to the party, Val! Caleb's already taken out one of the big guy's friends, and probably a second one of these things." Danny told her quickly, "He's been trying to hit this one, but the bladed robots won't let him so I figured the two of us could probably handle it." Valerie clicked her tongue derisively.

"I'm only working with you on this to keep those people safe. We've evacuated one of the cell blocks, and the other's starting to move out." she growled, firing on the swarm of little machines that started moving towards them, "With the firepower that big one's packing, it's a safe bet to say that thing's gonna be the executioner if it gets there." She tilted her head, considering the target moving at a steady clip. "Have you tried getting close to it and just pushing it off the platform?" she pointed out. Danny gestured towards the smaller machines.

"Those things seem to be protecting it. They don't really fire back unless we get close." he explained and gave them a puzzled glare, "Wish I knew what they were..."

* * *

"Here's something you might like, Tucker." Sam remarked with a dry grin, thrusting her open textbook into the techno-geek's face, "Read it while I keep these people running in the same direction as the rest." She turned and waved towards the panicking masses, yelling instructions along the lines of 'Go this way if you wanna live, you mindless throngs of consumers!' Or something like that. Tucker lost interest in her words the second he spotted what looked like a hovering robot in the book.

It was round and kind of flat, with a thin mounted gun and flaps that seemed to help keep it airborne.

"Ooh, more angel tech!" he purred and ran his fingers down its listing, "Let's see what you are, sweetie. 'Raybit. Angelic magitechnology created this defensive automaton designed for suppressive fire in combat. Alone, they pose little threat, but large swarms of them can be destructive and difficult to deal with for any heroic figure.'

"'The bursts they fire were a combination of Light and Lightning elements, though they themselves are weak to Lightning. Often appear with Murders and Perfect Murders...' Ooh, let's see those!" Tucker exclaimed, flipping through the pages eagerly.

* * *

"Where's Caleb in all this?" Valerie yelled in irritation, her rifle making little to no damage on the annoying machines that kept flitting about the big robot on its ride to the cell blocks, "Just one hit of that _Incineration_ spell and we'd be done by now!"

Danny ignored that last remark, following up all of her shots with bursts of ice in an effort to clear out the last of the protection around the now named -in his head at least- Bullfrog. He'd seen the android already, when he streaked back through the scene, one blade robot less than before following after him. As far as Danny knew, Caleb seemed to be doing just fine with the repairs he'd made earlier.

That one instance where he kind of paused in surprise at his and Valerie's double team tactic in shooting the Bullfrog **did** seem a little... weird.

"Oh, speak of the devil." Valerie suddenly quipped dryly and the halfa blinked, turning quickly to try spotting him. One of the blade robots was popping a lot of smoke and sparks, losing altitude even as it continued chasing after Caleb, its arms split open and firing after the android. The second rushed close behind him in a race to get a hit in one way or another.

"Valerie! We're not getting anywhere hitting that Bullfrog directly! Try attacking the thing carrying it; I bet it can't fly with the way it's just sitting there!" Danny told the girl sternly, not liking the looks of Caleb's evasive flight. Something looked a little shaky on that path, "At the rate it's moving, we'll all reach the cell blocks in about three or four minutes! I'm going to take out the two robots on Caleb's case!"

"Tch! I know what to do!" the Huntress shot back and crouched on her hoverboard, zooming off to circle the platform and Bullfrog, looking for a blind spot to attack from so she could avoid more of the missiles and return fire. Danny sighed and rushed off himself, flying straight for the robot chasing Caleb the closest.

"All right, then I've got this one ta-aack!" he declared, then yelped in shock as the robot suddenly went into a frenzied twirl, arms out and slamming into him at full speed.

* * *

"Let's see here. 'Murders were excellent at close range combat, using their thick, blade-like arms to batter their targets when the robot spun in three hundred and sixty degrees on their swivel-designed bodies. Firing from the arms was usually preferred when using long-range combat, and there was a secondary cannon hidden in their chests that fired powerful beams of concentrated mana.'

"'The recoil of this attack often pushed the Murder back and disoriented it for a few moments due to its lack of legs and the weak forward thrusters used to try countering it. Because of this, Murder units are best used in combat at closer ranges.'"

Tucker grinned hugely as he finished reading the brief entry for the next grade up of angel robots. Sam was yelling something about things falling from above and there were more people stampeding towards the safety of the tower doors -he faintly heard Jazz among those being herded that way but shrugged it off as just his imagination- but who cared about that stuff?

He wanted to hack a Murder! Who knew what kind of sweet programming code went into one of **those** things?

* * *

Intangibility spared him from the rest of that attack. Danny flew back from the robot, cringing in pain as he dodged and wove through the air to keep out of range. He'd been pretty badly battered by that one barrage of smacks -felt like the time Jazz lay into him while wearing the Fenton Ecto-Suit- but ghostly healing was already working on the worst of the damages, bruised ribs and muscles most likely. Stupid thing was now tailing him, though, and he'd already watched the other robot fall to the streets below, several yards short of the mass of people evacuating the cell blocks.

He spun around, gritting his teeth and letting loose a blast of ghostly ice on his pursuer. They were cutting this too close, way too close. And Valerie was still having trouble getting the flying platform to come down. Where had Caleb gone in all this? The reason for Danny pulling away from the Bullfrog had been to check on him, but the android managed to vanish into thin air. And he said he was incompatible with ghost powers...

_'Darn it! I don't have time to find him now!'_ The half-ghost growled softly and raced back to help the Red Huntress. Caleb had been hitting for the platform the first time he'd seen the android. Valerie's rifle wasn't doing any damage -could the Light element in it be weak against whatever these machines were using?- but his own Ice powers were doing awesome against them.

"Hey, Technus bait!" Danny yelled with a slightly maniacal smile on his face, "Wanna know what a computer does just before it crashes? It _freezes_!" The aura of frost blue surrounded his body as he flew in close to the Bullfrog. He pulled up to a standing position in one sharp move, throwing out the built up cold within him in a wave of energy, the Phantom Phreeze as Sam once called it though Danny preferred Cold Snap for a name.

Valerie ducked, sprawling out on her board to avoid the linear attack as it washed over a sizable distance, encasing anything and everything it touched in thick glittering ice. The Bullfrog and its flying platform continued moving forward, a massive aerial iceberg with a glowing blue eye, then slowly it tapered downward before catching speed and whistling through the air, down, down, down to the streets of Welgaia below.

Cut it way too close.

The buzzing little machines that remained -only three as far as Danny could see- immediately turned and rushed off. The sky was theirs; the people were safe. Danny let out a huge sigh of relief, relaxing at last and feeling almost dizzy with the lack of tension.

"That's it? Nothing else is coming after anyone?" Valerie questioned uncertainly as the halfa scanned their surroundings quickly. Nothing hostile seemed to be coming, and oh good, there was Caleb, on his way back to them from wherever he'd gone. Danny flinched slightly; that was the shine of ice wrapping around one leg. Probably got nicked by the Phantom Phreeze -Cold Snap. Whatever.- somewhere.

"Nah. Looks clear to me. Good thing, too, since it looks like I accidentally hit Caleb with the ice." he sighed with a faintly guilty smirk. He was probably going to get chewed out for that, but at least Caleb was still around to do the chewing.

"Good. 'Cause now I can take **you** out!" the huntress declared with grim satisfaction, leveling a small ecto-gun at him from where she stood on her hoverboard. Danny whipped his head around to stare at her in disbelief. This again?

"What the heck are you doing?" he exclaimed, "Caleb already fixed your weapons to keep them from hurting me; why waste shots again?" And it was just as those words left his mouth that he noticed the green and silver color of the gun, the familiar Fenton logo emblazoned on it as well. She didn't have **that** on her before hand; not her colors, not Vlad's style. It was a Fenton weapon, and she had come from...

His eyes widened as pieces fell into place in rapid sequence; she'd gone with Jazz to the cell blocks, his parents were in those blocks, she'd been _with_ his parents, his _parents_, who had the last of the Fenton ghost hunting gear that didn't get patched. Valerie had gone to get an ecto-gun that **could** hurt him.

"Don't." he heard himself say in a small voice. His mouth was dry and he licked at his lips in a quick little swipe out of nervousness. Why now? Why here? After everything she had been told, been taught, experienced even? **Why?** "Soulfire. Needs everyone..."

"Only the lives of the people who are gonna burn the Book." Valerie pointed out with that same dark tone, "Lives, Spook. You're already dead; you have nothing to do with this. Nebilim's gonna try to use ghosts to take over, and you're a ghost. Gotta weaken the problem so we have a better chance to end it." The ecto-gun gave a soft whine as it charged. "Nothin' personal, just saving the world. Oh wait. It **is** personal." the girl added with a purr.

She fired.

* * *

Tucker looked up from the textbook just as the iced Perfect Murder crashed into the street, sending a shockwave that had everyone sprawling on the street. Sam glared at it, then up at the tiny specks in the sky that were their friends.

"Danny! Watch where you drop the bad guys!" she fumed with a shake of her fist, "We're still down here, ya know!" Then she paused, her eyes widening. "Something... something's not right." she murmured, "I just got this sudden horrible feeling that something's not right at all." Tucker gave her a worried expression.

"If it's about Danny, there's not much we can do. He's way up there, we're down here, and if we get too involved while everyone's here, they'll start asking questions we can't answer." he told her quietly and searched the crowd, picking out the carrot-colored hair of Jazz Fenton as she raced towards them from one of the towers, her parents running after her in alarm. "Jazz is coming. Maybe the two of you can figure out what might be wrong." he added and turned a new grin on the Goth, "Meantime, I'm gonna go see if I can break through that ice and get access to that Perfect Murder thing. I just read up on it and the book says that it's the most wicked of the angel robot systems!" He handed her the book and took off running, already whipping out a PDA to do the work.

Sam watched him leave, still feeling that heavy dread in her gut. Something was terribly wrong and fear crept with its icy fingers over her again. She searched the pockets of her white robes, gripping the black heart in one fist once she found it and focusing hard on it. She couldn't fall into that trap again, couldn't let fear rule her heart.

_'Danny's in trouble, but I won't be afraid. I know he'll come through. He **has **to come through. He's strong and he's good, and he has all of us who care about him, for him. And he has me. Just like I have him. He'll come through, for me!'_

"Valerie's got one of Mom and Dad's ecto-guns!" Jazz blurted out as she reached the Goth, her eyes almost wild from panic, "Danny doesn't know! She's gonna shoot him with it the second she gets a chance!" Sam turned a frosty glare on the carrot-top.

"He's going to make it. He's coming back to me, and nothing's stopping him." she growled, "Somehow... Valerie **won't** take him away!"

* * *

Danny blinked.

"I thought I fixed your guns to keep this from happening." Caleb mused aloud, wings fluttering as he hovered before the halfa. Danny sniffed -burning electronics and cloth, ew- and floated aside to rub at his nose and avoid smelling it again.

"Hey! No fair taking the hit! And give me back that gun!" Valerie yelled angrily. The halfa watched Caleb give her a disinterested look, twisting the small gun in his hands until it snapped in two. He tossed the pieces to either side of himself, shrugging as he did so.

"You don't seem all that interested in learning anything, I see. Fine. I'll let your Trial be your lesson." he retorted and turned to face the startled boy, "Danny? Are you all right? You hit my leg with ice power, so I thought your aim might have been off by a bit."

"I'm okay, but what about **you**? You've got a frozen leg, and you were just shot in the heart!" Danny blurted out in a panic, "What if a crystal broke?" Caleb rolled his eyes.

"My clothes are my armor, remember? And ectotechnology can't touch anything purely mana-based, so my mana crystals are perfectly intact." he said calmly, "As for my leg, I told you I can't feel cold." He kicked at his frozen leg with the toe of his other boot. "Should be fine. If it bothers you that much, I'll break off the ice when we land. Where are the people?"

"Mostly evacuated." Valerie supplied, arms folded over her chest in a slouched sulk, "They're inside the buildings, on the street, and some are still in one of the cell blocks." Caleb only gave her a flat glare and she scowled back under her mask. "What?"

"Apologize to Danny for trying to shoot him."

_"What?"_

Danny held up his hands, laughing nervously at the huntress now looking like she'd rather start hunting angels. "That's not really necessary! I get shot at all the time and I don't expect to get any apologies for it!" he piped in, hoping to dispel that murderous air around them, "She just thought she was doing the right thing; I personally might not like it -being the target and all- but I can't blame her for trying to be right!" The android now gave him a surprised expression and Danny blinked back at him. _'That face... that's not a mask!'_

"You're not angry? She just tried to kill you, you realize." Caleb pointed out. Danny rolled his eyes, exasperated.

"A lot of people and things have tried to kill me. I can't exactly spend all my time being ticked off at them when I'm busy trying to keep everyone safe." he retorted, "No point in it. Let's just get to those people and make sure they're all in one piece..."

"Ah, that's right! The civilians!" Caleb exclaimed, as though just now realizing they'd been talking about living people, real hostages. He took off ahead of them, diving down to the streets. Danny was left trailing off into silence, baffled and wide-eyed by what had just happened. Valerie tilted her head, fury now replaced with confusion.

"What's gotten into him?" she asked the halfa, "Something you did?" Danny shook his head absently, another faintly suspicious feeling creeping over him. What was wrong with him? Caleb wasn't acting quite right; had that fight with those flying machines damaged him more? Let's see, he said he started with about twenty-five percent damage already on him. Had he taken any hits? Platform, chasing, ramming the fork into things... maybe another ten or fifteen percent?

But he looked perfectly fine! His hands were a little worse for wear and his hair had been messier than usual but he looked almost pristine otherwise. He always seemed to come out of his battles mostly untouched, pretty face and aloof expression in place.

_'The smell of burning electronics, the scream of metal... maybe he **looks** perfect on the outside, but what if he's hiding the real damage on the inside?'_ Danny wondered to himself. He'd look into it later.

On the ground, Danny and Valerie came across the rest of the team already working to gather the escaped hostages into the streets. With the impending threat of execution gone, everyone felt safer and took to idle chatter to help ignore the strange surroundings. Mr. Lancer and the Fentons had already tracked down Caleb and surrounded the android, demanding answers and explanations.

"What the-? Why'd they zero in on him?" Danny wondered aloud and Valerie broke into faintly malicious laughter.

"Probably 'cause I told them it's all his fault Jazz, Sam, and Tucker were here and that he's not even human either." she replied, hands on her hips, "Serves him right for screwing up my guns."

"You shouldn't have done that!" the halfa snapped at her angrily, "Why is it that all you think about is revenge? I thought there was more to you than that; the way you helped save so many people when Pariah Dark was free, when we had our truce to escape Skulker, I thought you were getting the idea of _really_ helping **everyone**!" He shook his head. "I can't believe you. To think I once _liked_ you, too." he murmured regretfully and shot down to help out the teacher. Valerie stared after him, speechless.

He sounded almost like Danny Fenton when he did that.

She jerked at the thought, shaking it from her head quickly. No way, Danny Fenton was a sweet guy, the kind of caring person any girl should be happy to nab. He was nothing like Danny Phantom, that self-righteous jerk of a spook pretending to be heroic while trashing everything in sight. Still, that kind of stung; she wasn't all about revenge, she was doing this to protect Amity Park, too! She was a hero for these people by hunting and destroying ghosts! Right?

* * *

Danny drew close, catching the tail ends of a few of the endless string of questions and accusations being thrown at Caleb, the android simply standing there with the broken remnants of ice scattered at his feet. He looked stoic, unreadable, and Danny cringed mentally at the emotional black hole that guarded the guy. Everything was going in, nothing was coming out.

"...dragging children into this dangerous dimension? You should be ashamed of yourself, sir!" Maddie lectured sternly.

"_War of the Worlds!_ The madness that is this entire place is likely to get us all killed! Mr. Altessa, if you don't provide some method of escape...!" Lancer ranted on.

"GHOST!" Jack bellowed at the sight of Danny floating near the redhead, whipping out a rifle to aim right for him.

"Ack! I forgot you've got those!" Danny blurted out in shock, taking cover behind the android again.

"He's protecting the ghost! He's a ghost too!" his father yelled and the people began moving restlessly, reading to break and panic with the right conditions. Maddie studied her equipment carefully, eyes darting between it and the two before them rapidly.

"Well, it's registering the ghost boy, but not the teacher. Jack, I really don't think Mr. Altessa's a ghost." she pointed out carefully, "But I still want answers and he's not telling us anything."

"You haven't stopped yelling long enough for me to answer." Caleb returned crisply, "Let me see your weapons, all of them. I'll modify them to combat the ghosts that are currently in your city." The Fentons only stared at him in distrust while Jazz and Sam raced onto the scene, huffing from the exertion.

"Mom, Dad, just do it!" Jazz blurted out, holding up her arm while still in her Peeler armor, "He fixed the Fenton Peeler to let us fight our way to you guys, and it works just fine! Look!" She and the Fentons set to discussing all the reasons for going with it or not. Sam left them as they were to hug Danny behind Caleb's back.

"I knew you'd make it back!" she declared, then jumped back nervously, face flushing, "I mean, Jazz told me about Valerie getting a new ecto-gun and everything..." Danny nodded. "So what happened up there?" the Goth asked him, "With the executioners and everything?"

"I'll tell you later. Let's just try to get Caleb out of this mess so he can send them all home." the halfa murmured.

In the end, it was the efforts of Jazz, Sam, and even Danny and Valerie -once she shook herself off enough to join in- that had the three adults stop blasting questions at the redhead. A small pile of ghost hunting gear was assembled for Caleb to modify, and he sat by a small campfire -one of many as the people of Casper High and the various adults and other ghost hunters decided to get some rest and see what happened next- with them. He worked in silence, opening up the guns and gear and tweaking away at them with his tools and what looked like a modified PDA.

Not too far from him, the Fentons sat around a campfire with Sam, Tucker and Valerie, waiting for the modifications to be done. Valerie had voiced opposition to the Fentons giving up their weapons, claiming that they'd never be able to hit Danny Phantom ever again if they let him touch those guns.

Caleb shut her up -and scared the daylights out of Team Phantom- by immediately taking one of the modified guns, pointing it at Danny's leg, and firing a single shot. Danny had hopped around, howling in pain and clutching the injured area, which was apparently proof enough that the modified weapons still worked and was all the Fentons needed to hand over everything they had, and the weapons of the other ghost hunters as well.

Jazz, Sam, and Tucker looked ready to lynch the android, sparing him when Danny got in the way and explained it had been an act, and a pretty ad-libbed one at that. Caleb didn't have much chance to warn him of it, only gave him a brief hint to fake it using a slightly pained expression before firing. The shot had passed through him without touching, and he had to hold his leg to hide the lack of a burn or hole so he could easily explain later that it healed over.

In the meantime, Danny sat by his mother, suffering through her constant poking him with small syringes to draw ectoplasm, as Caleb confiscated everything he deemed a weapon -including syringes full of something he couldn't identify- but left her with her empty ones. Jack alternated between loud plots to rip him apart and pleas for another serving of fudge, which Danny had explained to the android was his father's weakness and kept him quiet, and Caleb immediately gave him a recipe for the stuff and told him to make as much as he could with the rations in his food pack. Maddie wasn't happy with her husband eating ghost-made food, but it kept him fairly quiet so her complaints faded.

Sam's white robes and boots earned her some catcalls and whistles from the jocks that sat in their own huddle at a campfire, enough to finally draw Danny's attention away from his mother's growing ectoplasm collection to her. The Goth's face burned at his faint blush, glowing green eyes sweeping over the flowing white clothing, silver adornments and soft little boots in a quick assessment. At first chance, Danny scrambled away from the Fentons -Jazz provided an additional distraction by telling them about her Trial level and leaving out the Trial itself- and plopped himself by Sam. Tucker made no comment himself, absorbed by something he was reading on the screen of his PDA. He had apparently managed to pull something out of the frozen Perfect Murder and plugged it into the PDA; now he was searching through the quantities of data for something or another.

"Nice outfit, but I thought black was your color." Danny teased with a nervous grin. Sam rolled her eyes, smiling back.

"White's the new black, didn't you hear?" she retorted and picked at the clothing, "I got soaked in one of the towers, so I grabbed some angel robes to wear until my clothes dried. Haven't had the chance to go change since the tower we were in got hit by something that tore chunks of it out. Was that you or Caleb?"

"Caleb. I saw him pull himself out of a tower, but I never thought you guys would be right below us." the halfa returned and gave a little shrug, "It... it looks good on you. I mean, it would probably be more suited to you if it was black, but... white is good too."

From the huddle of Populars came another stream of whistles and calls. "Goth Geek's got a crush on _Danny Phaaantom_!" Dash taunted and seemed to fall over in laughter as the jocks roared out with him, more taunts and teasing flooding out in regards to that single statement. Danny and Sam shot glares in their direction, faces bright red.

"Shut up! We're not like that!" they snapped back before giving each other a sheepish expression.

"I'd better go change, now that everyone's free and nothing's coming after us." Sam mumbled, picking at the robes again, "You'll explain what happened up there later, right? When?" Danny seemed to think it over, pensive expression on his face as he rubbed at his chin.

"You take Jazz with you when you change and tell Tucker to make up some excuse to go along. I'll meet you guys at the moving walkway." he planned quickly, "We'll have the chance to talk without Caleb listening in since he's busy with the modifications." Sam gave him a surprised look.

"This has something to do with Caleb?" she questioned. Danny shrugged.

"I don't know for sure. But I learned some stuff and I think it's best that we're all on the same page with this one, for his sake at least." he whispered, eyebrows puckering together in concern, "I'm worried about him. Something's really wrong, but I can't quite pin it down yet."

"What about Valerie?"

Danny's mouth tightened, an angry look to him that seemed to explain everything. "I want to help Caleb; Valerie's done enough to hurt him, getting him in trouble with Mom and Dad and Lancer. If we figure anything out that's important, she might try to use it to hurt him more." he murmured, "And I have this gut feeling... perfect neutrality is a really good shield, best I've seen so far, but it hides things too well. I don't want to know what could happen if Caleb gets pushed too far one way, and it's almost like he's starting to lose ground somewhere."

The Goth nodded and stood up, walking past Tucker to peer at what he was reading. Her lips moved almost imperceptibly, dropping the message softly. Tucker's eyes widened slightly, and he gave the barest of nods in understanding. Satisfied, she moved on to talk to Jazz. Trusting in his friends to gather together, Danny went invisible on the spot, rising from the campfire to fly off and set his thoughts straight. Once they got to talking, he would need his mind clear to really get what was going on.

Because if Caleb was falling in any way, be it from Nebilim's tricks or the damages of battle, Danny and his friends might be the only ones who had a chance to catch him and keep them all moving forward. For Amity Park, for the world, for the people in his memories that counted on him to be their Guardian Angel...


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Long setup is loooong. XD;

* * *

22

It wasn't too long before Danny and his team were huddled together by the moving walkway. The entire city had seemed to dim and darken, signaling some form of night, so the many campfires of the people in the distance stood out that much more. They made their own of a sort, Tucker's laptop open in the center of their circle and radiating bright light from its screen.

"So what's the story?" Jazz asked, concerned expression on her face as Danny rested his chin on his fists, glaring at the laptop -or through it- in a frighteningly similar manner to Caleb's initial reaction to Welgaia.

"Nebilim's trying to turn me into a host body, and he's breaking Caleb at the same time." the halfa muttered darkly, eyes lifting to take in the myriad of expressions on his friends' faces. "It's bad, and I'm sorry I had to say it like that, but it's the only way I can think of to say it without beating around the bush." he added.

"That's why Nebilim was trying to lure you to him when we first came after the Book?" Jazz questioned hollowly, feeling numb with the news. Danny shrugged.

"Maybe. He hasn't really tried talking to me in a long while, but he's been..." he replied and gestured vaguely, trying to put to words what he was suspecting, "It's like Nebilim's trying to use me to somehow wreck Caleb, as well as set me up for some part of his plan."

"That sounds like something he'd do." Sam growled, "He probably noticed how much Caleb's bonding to you, so he's gonna try to twist that against the one guy who knows how to beat him in the Book." She had changed back into her usual Gothic clothing during her time away, and Danny had been glad to hear the heavy tromping of her combat boots against the metal floors. It was familiar and comforting, especially considering all that was happening now.

"Right, so first off, let's figure out the host body thing." Danny agreed and rolled his eyes heavenward, tracing his memory to pick out the information he collected. "The Angels of Welgaia said that I was going to be the host body for Nebilim so he can use me to unite the lands of the dead and the living. To do that, he needs to turn me into a vessel, like what happened with Colette." he began.

"So Nebilim needs a Cruxis Crystal to make you into a host." Sam added, opening her book to the pages about the Crystal, "Those are made by putting special Key Crests on an Exsphere while it feeds on another host body."

"All the people Nebilim kidnapped were gonna be used for experiments to make a Cruxis Crystal." the halfa agreed, face grim at the collective gasps around him, "Yeah, that's why I was even more panicked about getting everyone out. I went to find Caleb to help me free them when I learned that the cell blocks could be opened at a certain computer and he would know the release code."

"That explains the walls suddenly opening up when Valerie and I got to the cells." Jazz mused aloud, "So Nebilim was going to create a Cruxis Crystal and use it on you. That's the stone that Colette wore to turn into an angel. What would it do to a half-ghost?" Danny shrugged. "Anything else about this?"

"Well, they also said that they had to move fast because it seemed like the Fallen Angel was going to use me for something as well." he added worriedly, eyebrows furrowing together, "But I don't see why Caleb would need to use me for anything like that; he doesn't want Nebilim free and he doesn't seem to care for getting another body or anything. To hear him talk, he's way too proud of being an android to even want to be fully human. Or half, in my case." He raised his head suddenly, "Oh! But I did get something out of Caleb about it! I told him about the host body thing, and he freaked, thinking I was talking about him!"

"Caleb thought Nebilim was going to use **him** as a host?" Tucker questioned, finally getting into the conversation. Most of his time had been spent on his PDA, still poring over the information from the Perfect Murder.

"Yeah. I told him they meant me and he kind of calmed, then freaked again. I mentioned he was acting like Nebilim was talking about both of us being hosts and he told me to forget the whole thing." Danny told the group in confusion, "I was thinking about that while waiting for you guys, and it kinda sounded like he was freaking because if Nebilim was looking for a host and meant me, and Caleb thought it meant him, then wouldn't that mean that Caleb and I have something in common that would let Nebilim use us as hosts?"

The group went quiet, frowning as they considered the implications of that carefully. Caleb and Danny; the two were as different as a tree and a rock. Danny was a fairly average teenager, if one ignored his secret life of being a ghostly hero for Amity Park. He studied when he could, got picked on by jocks, had no real special skills outside of ghost powers, and could be read like an open book if one took the time to pay close attention to him.

Caleb was an ancient android, a being that existed far longer than any of them could imagine. He was nearly all-knowing, manipulative as hell, packed secrets and trump cards with the expertise of a con artist, and used actual _magic_. With perfect neutrality, his every thought and intention were shielded behind a wall so impenetrable it was almost never worth the effort to get past it.

**How** could the two of them have anything in common?

"Mana." Sam finally murmured, reading her textbook, "That could be it." Danny gave her a blank stare and she rolled her eyes. "Remember, we're dealing with people who treat mana like we treat air and electricity; mana is _everything_ to them." she growled and poked at her book, "Colette was the vessel for Martel because her mana was a very close match to Martel's. If Nebilim wants you for his vessel, it's probably because your ectomana is a good match for his mana. And if Caleb thought Nebilim was talking about **him**, then that means Caleb's mana is also a good match for Nebilim."

"But Caleb said my ectomana was a high match for the Wonder Chef's mana." Danny remarked in confusion before yelping and covering his mouth, eyes wide, "Oops! I don't think I was supposed to have said that!"

"Well, _that_ explains why he's so attached to you." Jazz muttered, faintly disgusted expression painting her features, "He's attaching his memories and friendship with the Wonder Chef to you because of a mana match." Danny flinched. Was that _really_ why? Maybe all Caleb saw when looking at him wasn't Danny Phantom or Danny Fenton, but that little blonde chef named Wren that he'd lost so long ago. Oh, he was gonna need therapy for that one.

"It's possible that Danny could match two people at the same time." Sam mused aloud, dubious about her words even as she spoke them, "Although, if we follow that line of thought, then that would mean that the Wonder Chef's mana was also a good match for Nebilim. Has he ever tried taking over Caleb or the Wonder Chef in the past?" Danny shook his head.

"Caleb said this is the first time he's ever been in the Book, but Nebilim recognized him anyway." he corrected, "According to him, Nebilim probably recognized the mana of his soul and that's why Nebilim's been talking to him like they knew each other."

"Did you ask who he was before and if his previous self went through the Book?" Jazz questioned and the halfa nodded. "And?"

"He told me to shut up and back off." Danny muttered irritably, "Said that the soul inside him wasn't really _him_, so whatever **it** did doesn't count for him, and he doesn't have a previous life since he'd always been just Caleb. I said that I always thought a soul defined a person, and he just gave me this line about committing suicide if that was true."

"Man, Caleb must really hate his own soul to say that." Tucker grimaced, "But I thought he'd be happy about it. His sister gave that to him, right? He sounded so proud of having a soul earlier..." He paused, a sudden flash of insight plain on his face. "Androids don't have mana of their own and can take any soul. His sister gave him one that has mana that matches Nebilim. Nebilim's mana is also a match to Danny's, which means Danny and Caleb have the same kind of mana. Danny also has a match to the Wonder Chef's mana, so that means that Caleb does too. Nebilim met someone who has a close mana match to all four of you, and the only way to meet him is to go in the Book of the Underworld." he tallied off on his fingers.

"So there's a fifth person who matches all of us?" Danny asked, blinking in surprise.

"Not just that, but that fifth person is the one whose soul went to Caleb." Sam pointed out with a grin, "And if we can figure out what that person did to keep Nebilim from possessing **their** body, then we can use that same trick to keep him from taking over **your** body! We just have to find out who it is!"

"We can ask Caleb later." Jazz agreed and turned to Danny, "Now what's this about him breaking? He looked just fine to me back with our parents and Mr. Lancer." Danny shook his head.

"That's on the outside! He's covering it up, I know he is!" he declared hotly, "I watched him in that fight with the execution squads; he was shaky, he kept getting startled by me and Valerie whenever we fired on the machines, and I smelled burning electronics when I was close to him."

"Internal damages." Tucker agreed, picking up on the signs right away, "If he's shaky, that could be a sign of structural damage; his joints or the components he uses for muscles could be tearing or separating. If he's jumping each time you fire, that might be optical damage; his eyes aren't showing him everything, or it could be his other sensors giving him false information." He rubbed at his chin, frowning as everyone's attention focused on him. He was the most knowledgeable about this, after all. "Burning electronics... that could be circuitry that got fried... hold on." He picked up his PDA and scrolled through it again.

"What is that? You haven't put it down since you got near that Perfect Murder thing." Sam pointed out dryly.

"It had an SD card, of all things. I plugged it in and got a list of logs about everything that happened to the execution squads." the techno-geek returned, "Danny, you and Valerie were dealing with the ones that were coming our way, right? You're marked here as 'Host Body' and 'Red Hostile'. I read further back; Caleb took out two whole squads by himself before he got to the ones we saw from the cell blocks."

The group went quiet, stunned.

_"Incineration?"_ Sam posed and Tucker shook his head, "My God, he tore through a small army of robots without **any** magic at all?"

"What did they call him there?" Danny asked. That was like a blow to the head; he'd worried about Caleb damaging himself by ramming the platform when the guy could already be suffering from serious harm after crossing paths with two of those squads all on his own!

"FA Rev-M." Tucker read back from the screen, "I ran it against what we know of Caleb and it boils down to 'Fallen Angel, Revision M'. He triggered a couple of explosions with that fight, including one really nasty one that hit him on one side. Got recorded by one of the Murders before it went offline and crashed." He set the device down, frowning. "That could explain a lot of his damages there. I thought he was repairing himself after every battle."

"He is. He did." Danny told him quickly, "When we were being chased by the Angels of Yggdrasill and the Angels of Vinhelm, I noticed he was having trouble breathing. He told me he had about forty-five, maybe fifty percent damage there. We hid out and he did some repairs and brought it down to twenty-five percent." He shut his eyes, smacking his forehead. "Geh, I should have checked again! I don't remember if he was breathing or not, he wasn't panting so I thought it was all good, but if he quit breathing altogether, that should have told me something was wrong!"

"Add in the fighting, the shockwave from that blast, another round of fighting..." Sam mused aloud, leaning backwards on her hands, "And he hasn't been able to get away to do repairs now since all the people are out..."

"Maybe sixty percent damage? Roughly?" Tucker guessed, worried expression on his face, "That much damage to him and he might be hiding it; if he doesn't get some major repairs done, this trip really could kill him."

"Can we convince him to let us help him repair the damages?" Jazz asked her brother, who shook his head.

"He wouldn't even let me look at him while he was doing repairs in the tower. I really doubt he'll agree to having a bunch of us grab some tools and dive in on him." the halfa retorted tiredly, running his fingers through his hair, "He didn't want to use the Pin because he wanted to have enough to send the kidnapped people home and the rest of us once we set fire to the Book. So all he's been doing is just knocking off his damage count little by little."

"Maybe we can use the stuff around here to help him get repaired." Tucker suddenly said, blinking in surprise, "Nebilim has to follow the rules of the Book, right? As much as he screws us over, he has to leave stuff to help us too. He can try booby-trapping that help, but if we get past it, we'll get what we want."

"Like the cell release code that was actually an execution order?" Danny pointed out dryly, "Huron's Angel Force is on Caleb's side; they gave us the clue to release the cells. Nebilim screwed it up to be an execution order. But when the squads were destroyed, nothing came to put the people back in the cells." He pulled his knees up to hug them. "That could work. We'll have to find more members of the Angel Force to help." he agreed at last and traced a line over his chest, "They wear green sashes, so we can tell them apart from the other angels." He stood and stretched, letting joints pop and relax. "Let's head back and see if Caleb's done with the modifications. With those done, he'll send everyone out of the Book."

"Who the heck is Huron?" Sam asked, crinkling her nose as she and the other teens followed his example of standing and stretching.

"Caleb's friend, one of the angels that lived in Welgaia during Symphonia's time." Danny replied with a faint frown, "He was killed during some big plot to revive Mithos that ended up failing."

"That insane angel was almost brought back to life? How? I thought Martel had him sealed!" the Goth blurted out in horror. Danny shrugged helplessly.

"I don't know, Caleb didn't say. He really hates talking about Mithos. All he said was that Huron died, he almost got killed, the Wonder Chef nearly went nuts and Lloyd never looked at Caleb the same way since." he answered, "After that, he told me to leave it alone and quit asking about it since it has nothing to do with what's going on here." Sam looked worried, then shook it off, scowling in place of her earlier expression.

"So Mithos's soul is still out there somewhere. Hell, _Nebilim_ could probably be Mithos, for all we know!" she griped, folding her arms over her chest. Danny laughed nervously.

"Don't let Caleb hear you say that. He'll probably lose it." he warned as the group walked back towards the many camps of people.

* * *

Back at the campsites, Valerie wandered among the many hostages, assuring them that everything would be fine and they would all escape in the morning. Some people ventured into the towers nearby and found blankets stored away, bringing them out for everyone to use. She hadn't seen the ghost boy or his friends around, and Caleb had finished working on the last ecto-gun, rendering all the equipment useless against Danny Phantom. It was annoying, but she figured that her upgraded armor and weapons would do just as well since they were something she could simply will into existence, kind of like magic.

Valerie tended to not think too much on how that happened, only accepted the 'gift' and went on with shooting ghosts.

"The people are doing all right?" Caleb suddenly asked and she jumped, startled. Spinning around, the huntress found him standing nearby, fork strapped to his back and satchel at his side as always. He gave her a concerned look. "Should I be asking you that instead?" he wondered aloud.

"I'm fine. Looks like everyone's doing okay, too." Valerie answered begrudgingly. She wasn't going to forgive him for fixing the weapons, but she would hold back on her usual temper, just for tonight, and refuse to say that the ghost kid's words had any effect on her.

"Well, _I'm_ not okay." Kwan complained as he sat by Dash, blanket wrapped around his shoulders. The Asian jock held his head in his hands as he looked up at the two of them. "All that noise and banging from those freaky machines falling and blowing up... it's given me this awful killer headache." he sighed and then gave them a hopeful look, "You have any aspirin, Mr. Altessa?"

"Not really, no. But I do have something better that will take care of that pain." Caleb returned, kneeling by the teen and opening his satchel. Valerie watched in curiosity as the other jocks leaned forward, interested in what the android was about to pull out.

A wooden cutting board and a sharp knife, a pair of small bowls, a banana, a pouch of blueberries, a lemon and a little jar of honey; Caleb set out the cutlery and ingredients before himself. As the teens watched in confusion, he swiftly peeled and cut the banana into slices and slid them into one of the bowls, adding in a small amount of blueberries from the pouch. The lemon was cut in half, one stashed away in a plastic pouch and the other squeezed lightly over the fruit mix. The second bowl was placed over it, and Caleb gave the two bowls a quick shaking to mix everything together. After that, he packed away the second bowl, drizzled a little honey over the fruit, then handed the mix and a spoon to Kwan.

"Here. This will ease the pain. It's a recipe a friend of mine taught me while we were traveling together." Caleb remarked with a grin, "We didn't have the luxuries of medicines at the time, so we used natural ingredients and cooking to deal with most problems. I found cooking good food that heals the body to be a lot better than popping pills, thanks to him." The jock gave him an incredulous look, but accepted the dish and carefully ate a few bites. It took a minute, but the surprised look on his face was all anyone needed to know the results.

"Whoa! This stuff's good! And yeah, my head's feeling better, too!" he exclaimed with a laugh, "Thanks, Mr. Altessa; your friend's got some wicked food to cure headaches!" The android chuckled as the other jocks began chiming in with sudden aches and pains, eager for remedies. Valerie watched more food preparation, some amount of disbelief still on her face.

Food had cured a headache? Was that why Caleb liked cooking everything for them and got on the ghost kid's case to follow his recipes exactly? She touched fingers to one arm, remembering briefly a wound she had received during Tucker's Trial level, thanks to fighting Technus while the two Calebs were dueling. The android had cleaned it out, bandaged it, and then given her a bowl of stew to eat. By morning, the injury had healed over almost completely, and by afternoon it was as if she'd never been hurt.

"Danny's back." Caleb suddenly murmured, standing up after serving all the jocks. He searched the area, a faintly puzzled look on his face. "When did he leave? I didn't..." he added under his breath before jerking his head back in sudden shock, "I...!" He glanced aside at Valerie staring at him, then smiled and shook his head with a short laugh. "Nothing." the android remarked, "Let's get you all to bed. In the morning, I'll send the hostages home." With that, he walked away, singing softly to himself, _"Gather, gather, twelve from virgin hens..."_

* * *

Danny felt only marginally better at seeing the number of weapons in his parents' arms the next morning; true, they were all patched to keep from hurting him and he would have to pretend from then on that they did so Mom and Dad wouldn't freak out, but still. It was hard to ignore that hard-learned sense of duck and cover when he saw a weapon in their hands.

Valerie had thrown a small fit when she learned that everyone had gone and had a meeting without letting her in on it. She calmed once she realized that Caleb had been excluded as well. Caleb himself didn't seem to care much, only gave Danny a quick look over to be sure he was all right, then went back to staring distantly into space. Danny watched him more carefully, now that he suspected the android was in serious trouble. He _was_ breathing, shallow little puffs that were enough to set everyone else at ease but didn't really do much else, and he was favoring a leg, leaning his weight away from it subtly.

"Everyone's accounted for, Mr. Altessa." Lancer reported with that same tone of incredulity he was famous for, one eyebrow hiked up, "Now. How are we to escape from this confounded city?"

"I'm gonna miss Welgaia." Dash sighed wistfully, looking up at the stars beyond the glass dome, "It might have been freaky, but you look out there and you really feel like you're part of the myth."

Caleb pulled the Eternal Sword Pin from his jacket, holding it before himself by the tips of his index fingers and thumbs. The adults blinked at him, puzzled.

"Mr. Altessa?" Maddie questioned, tilting her head.

"I'm only sending back the hostages that were taken." Caleb told them firmly, mouth set into grim thinness, "The ones who came with me must stay with me, or everything will be for nothing." He closed his eyes, concentrating as the Pin glowed brightly. _"Eternal Sword Pin, hear my request! Those that were brought here against their will, drawn in by the vile demons and minions of Niflheim, be taken from this realm to their own world!"_ he intoned and a massive circle of light bloomed beneath the feet of the crowd of people.

"_Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone_! **What** is going on here?" Lancer cried in alarm, looking down at the light.

"Jazz! Get over here! Hurry!" Maddie exclaimed, reaching out to her daughter. Jazz stepped back, shaking her head determinedly even as tears ran down her face.

"I'm sorry, Mom, Dad! I'll see you when we've destroyed the King of the Underworld! We love you!" she called back, including Danny when the ghost boy turned his head to hide his own tears and could only stay silent.

The circle of light rose up from the ground, the people disappearing as it passed over them. When the last traces of them were gone, it flickered, then faded, leaving Team Phantom, Valerie and Caleb all alone on the now deserted streets of Welgaia.

There was a small pop, almost negligible compared to the feeling of losing friends and family again, but the sound had Tucker snap back to attention first.

"What was that?" he questioned, turning his head around to see if anyone else noticed the sound.

"Gngh!" Caleb grunted softly, dropping to one knee as the Pin clattered to the floor before him. He gripped one leg tightly, a strangely determined expression on his face as he tried to stand again. Jazz gasped, spinning to face her brother.

"Danny! You were right! Caleb's breaking down; we gotta help!" she exclaimed in alarm, the other teens already gathering around the android to see what was going on.

"I'm **not** breaking! What stories has he been spreading about me again?" Caleb growled softly, reaching out to snatch up the Pin and replace it, jerking away from outstretched hands, "Using the Pin's power to transport that many people... it's just a large drain on my own personal mana supply to cast the spell, that's all!" He began to rise on his own as though to prove he was fine, then abruptly seemed to change his mind and his wings lashed out, flapping to support him as he floated a few inches above the ground. "I'm perfectly fine; what the hell made you think I was 'breaking'?" the android snapped, folding his arms over his chest.

"What's your damage percent now?" Danny asked in a low voice, his back still turned to the redhead. Caleb blinked, face quirked into a puzzled look. "Better yet, tell me... what do you think this is?" the halfa posed, pulling his hand from his pocket as he turned to face the android, holding the Exsphere he had collected from the terminal room up to eye level, glaring at Caleb from beyond the smooth stone. It was something he'd never shown him, so it was good for a trump card now.

The android's eyes widened at the sight, and the teenagers gaped at seeing the little round stone. They swept back and forth between Caleb and the Exsphere, wondering what this was supposed to do. It was Sam who seemed to realize it and grabbed Tucker's PDA to type out what she thought up, letting the others lean in and read her writing.

_'Exspheres and Cruxis Crystals come in red and blue colors, like in the textbook. If Caleb's eyes are damaged somehow, he might not see the colors right and won't be able to identify it correctly! That would prove he's got internal damage, like Tucker said!'_

"Well?" Danny urged in challenge. Caleb frowned at him, eyes lighting up to run a scan; he halted abruptly at Danny's sharp gasp of alarm. "Your eye! On the right!" the halfa blurted out, pointing at him shakily, "It didn't light! Your left one did, but not the right!"

"Wha-? Ah!" Caleb uttered a sharp little curse in that angelic language, one hand rising quickly to hide the offending eye, "I knew it should have meant something when I was hit by the ice; stupid depth perception was lost..."

"He's blind in that eye." Jazz breathed in horror, gasping behind one hand, "He can't identify colors in his left eye and he's completely blind in the right!"

"He's been busted this whole time?" Valerie blurted out in shock, "What the hell are we doing following a busted android to our doom?"

"I'm. **Not.** _**Busted!**_" Caleb yelled in a fury. Something snapped and the bright red mana wings suddenly flickered and went out, dropping the android onto the ground, where his leg immediately crumpled under him and he fell to one knee again. For a long while, no one moved, just stood there gazing at the partially crippled angel in silence. His hair seemed to shadow his face, turned downward while his fingers splayed out over the street to keep him steady.

Danny finally made to move close, taking only a single step before halting when Caleb thrust his hand out towards the boy, palm facing him in the universal sign for 'stop'.

"Total damage overall; sixty-five percent. Mana sensors, offline; main mana fueling relays, offline; sub-mana relays, offline; auxiliary mana relays, compromised. Structural damage; forty percent. Energy system damage; twenty percent. Sensor damage; fifteen percent." Caleb began murmuring, soft and almost dead in tone. Danny recognized it as the kind of voice he had when he couldn't help but tell the truth because he'd burnt out so badly. "Optical damage; seventy-five percent. Neural damage; calculating... five percent." He lowered his hand and let it rest limply in his lap. "All right. So I'm not exactly in the best condition. Don't think I was hiding it because I felt like doing it for fun."

Jazz seemed to peer at him, considering something carefully, then nodded and moved forward, taking a spot by the android and picking up the limp hand, feeling along the length of his arm carefully, clinically.

"I think... correct me if I'm wrong -though I almost never am wrong- but you seem to consider yourself the leader of us here, don't you?" she asked him lightly. The other teens glanced at one another, confused. Where was Jazz going with this?

"Well, I know the most about the Book." Caleb returned quietly, lifting his head to give her a puzzled look, which was a little unnerving considering how he couldn't see out of one eye and it even looked darker than the other, the emerald green now almost black. "My knowledge, my magic, my world... logically, I should be leading us." Jazz smiled and shook her head at him, tightening her grip when one probing finger had the limb in her hands jerk reflexively.

"_Danny's_ always been our leader; you're a guide, yes. We appreciate your info and all you do for us. But when things are really looking dark, it's Danny we trust in to show us the way home." she explained to him, "What you were doing, you were doing it for us because you thought we were looking to you for all the support and the lead. You had to always look strong, look unruffled, look as though nothing can really hurt you, because that was how you were protecting us from fearing this place that we don't really know."

"A pretty face that hides the pain." Sam murmured, joining her side as she looked at the teacher with new understanding, "I get it now. Dummy, don't you know? Team Phantom is Team **Phantom**; Danny lights our way, you just help to magnify him."

"Yeah, man!" Tucker chimed in, jumping to take a place by the android with a grin, "We've all fallen down in one way or another, out in Amity Park and in here too! And Danny's always managed to pull us up and pull us together." He waved a PDA at him smugly. "So go ahead. Relax. Fall apart if you need to, if you have to, and don't worry about anything. Danny caught us; he'll catch you too."

Danny felt his face burn red hot. That was an awful lot of praise for him by his friends; oh man, he was going to have to work so hard to live up to that. But it was warm and just so comforting to know what they thought of him. Here he had always believed he had to be careful not to fall because they might fall with him; but they all insisted they would catch him and bring him back to his feet, backed with the faith that he would always catch them and do the same, because they were close friends and cared for one another.

As long as they were there, they could catch and support each other. Dan Phantom would never have a chance to exist.

And watching Caleb stare at Jazz with those wide eyes, teary and surprisingly innocent as she went on checking for other possible 'injuries', it hit Danny like a bolt of lightning; the reason why he hated perfect neutrality, why it seemed to hurt so much when the walls came up, hurt him and apparently hurt the angelic android.

Caleb lost everyone who _could_ catch him. That's why asking about parts of his past made him snap and lash out, or go silent and cold, or just flat out lie. Wren and Pepper, both friends that Caleb had relied on, bonded with, counted on to support him and was always there to support and protect in return; they were gone, because they were living creatures they eventually passed away, and he was alone, with no one to support and no support for himself.

Behind the shield of perfect neutrality, Caleb was drowning where no one could reach him, and he couldn't bring himself to care enough anymore to try to stay afloat. Danny was the type of person who couldn't understand why anyone would **choose** to suffer alone, so seeing that wall -the symbol of enforced loneliness- infuriated him to no end.

"Good, Evil, or Perfectly Neutral." Danny suddenly said with all the seriousness he could muster in his hormone-addled teenage body. Four pairs of eyes turned to look at him in surprise. "It doesn't matter. I can count on you to get us through this Book, and you can count on me to be a friend when you need one." he told the android, stepping forward to kneel before the redhead with a smile, "What do you say? Friends? Even after the Book is gone?"

"You.. you mean that?" the redhead murmured in shock, "I mean, I can't tell you everything about me... not right away, but..."

"Everyone has their secrets, that's fine. I'm asking you to be my friend because you need one, not because I want to use you." Danny told him, "You can last forever, but for right now, for the moment in history that I'm alive, let me be your friend, not just another Hero in your memories."

"Then... can I name you?" Caleb asked in return, looking on the verge of crying his eyes out even as he stared up at the halfa. Danny gave him a puzzled blink. Name him? What did that mean?

_'His real name was Adam Voraci, but I always called him Wren.'_

_'He was my best friend, my dearest friend. He loved the world and he loved life; to harm either one would be to betray him.'_

"Yeah." Danny agreed softly, feeling oddly choked up. A name from Caleb; why did that sound almost like a ritual? Like... a pact? "Yeah, go ahead; you can name me."

"Symbol of Death who walks in Life." the android muttered, then nodded before smiling up at the halfa, "Then it's settled. From now on, we're friends, Raven. I leave my repairs to you; I don't think... I can keep..." Caleb drooped forward, resting his forehead against his knee and closing his eyes.

No one moved for a while, staring at the silent figure dressed in green.

"I think he had an internal error and just crashed." Tucker finally remarked, rubbing the back of his head worriedly, "He said he had neural damage, right? He held out quite a while. We'd better figure out how to fix him while he's out cold, or we're not moving anywhere."

Danny didn't hear him at first, turning the name over in his head. Raven, the black bird associated with encroaching death; it was clichéd, of course, but still... There was that weird feel to it, a strange bell-like tone that rang in the back of his mind, along with a whisper from a woman that brought to mind that shadowy glimpse he saw at the beginning of this whole adventure. A woman with long hair and a winged staff, reaching out to Caleb.

_'Take good care of my sweet little brother, dear Danny Phantom, and someday you will see the Caleb that existed so many millions of years ago, when he was innocent and pure and loved his friends with everlasting loyalty.'_

"Right." he finally said after catching his name being called several times. He shook himself off, then set to giving orders, "Sam, search through Caleb's satchel and packs; maybe he's got a blueprint of himself somewhere that we can use. Tucker, grab the tools and see what you can recognize; check the Archives if you still can and see if there's a map to find Huron's Angel Force base in Welgaia." The two scattered to do just that and Danny moved on to his sister. "Jazz, you have a better understanding of tending to injuries; give Caleb the best once over you can and see if you can pick out anything we can fix without screwing up something else down the line." he pointed out and began a jog over to Valerie, taking to the air in the process, "Valerie!"

_"What the **hell **just happened?"_ Valerie blurted out, her first words in ages since Caleb's fall. She gestured wildly at the group, "There was confession or something, and then gooey-lovey mush, and now everyone's one big happy family?"

"Yeah, yeah, big happy family. Caleb's gonna be our new Mommy..." Danny sighed, rolling his eyes as he tugged on her arm, "Come on! You and I are gonna scout Welgaia and see if we can find Huron or his angels here. Nebilim has to play by the rules and leave Caleb's angel friends here to help us!"

"Danny! Catch!" Jazz called out to her brother, tossing a pair of Fenton Phones his way, "Tucker will call if he finds a map while you're away! Be careful out there!"

"Got it! Let's go!" the halfa agreed with a determined smile, taking to the air with the Red Huntress following shortly after, "Caleb's counting on us, so let's show him what the Heroes of Amity Park can do!"

* * *

Pages and books were sprawled around Sam as she sat in the midst of all of Caleb's things. The satchel was pretty much emptied and she looked over each item with mixed feelings. There were photos of days long lost, with friends that would never return. Notes and letters carefully preserved, or maybe replicated, written in ancient handwriting using a dead language; trinkets, tools, large colored crystals, bits of jewelry, even a spell card that looked vaguely Japanese in origin, and a wooden box the size of a small chest. She fiddled with the latch on it until it opened, but all it held was a large round bell on a green sash placed neatly on a velvet bed, with a handful of glittering gemstones resting beside it and a small supply of colored ribbons like the tattered green one he often wore in his hair.

The textbook identified the precious stones as the gems for the Rings of Pact, symbols of the contract between a summoner and a Summon Spirit. Wearing one gave the user a special ability and infused their attacks with that gem's Element. Did Caleb once travel around, making pacts?

She checked on the Soulfire in the Soul Stone's box, and nearly dropped it when it rushed out, a billowing bonfire that swirled around her and wrapped her in its warmth. It felt like a hug, like an embrace telling her everything would be okay, and she soaked it in as long as she felt it was safe before closing the box and trapping the flames within it once more. With that much fire, surely they could burn this Book already and go home! First, of course, fixing the android that was their guide through and their way out.

But despite looking through everything, the journals and notes and papers, there was nothing that looked like a blueprint for Caleb. It was even possible that one didn't exist anymore, that Caleb simply memorized the schematic that was for his body and then let time rot the blueprint away. Yet, he was responsible for archiving all the knowledge of the world; surely his own blueprint was stashed _somewhere_ to preserve it!

She turned to Tucker, hoping he'd be able to search the Archives, when she spotted that odd little PDA that Caleb had used the night before. Was there some useful info there? Sam picked it up and keyed it on, watching as the twin blades of the Eternal Sword Pin spun into view on the screen. She grinned -their teacher could be such a dork- then used the stylus to navigate the little menus. Notes and observations about ghosts were there, along with a list of codes that looked similar to the ones in the textbooks.

"Ah! Tucker! Check these out!" Sam exclaimed.

"Later. I still haven't found a map for Huron's base." the techno-geek returned with a sigh, "Caleb's got locks on the really deep parts of his Archives, and it'll take way too long to hack into them using the tech I have with me." Sam held out Caleb's device with a grin.

"Use these. They're Caleb's personal list of reference codes." she offered. Tucker snatched the device out of her hand, linking the two PDAs together before she could even take another breath. She laughed dryly. "Don't go doing anything else to it. Caleb will pull your head off if you personalize his PDA." she warned teasingly, "Lemme know if you find his blueprints in there somewhere. I'm gonna help Jazz with him."

"Sure."

* * *

Fixing technical things wasn't one of Jazz's strong points, right up there beside lying. But here she was, carefully removing pieces of Caleb's clothing for repairing what she could find. Jacket, shirt and sleeves were set aside, one after another, all with care. At one point, her hand drifted near the Eternal Sword Pin on Caleb's lapel, and a small shock hit her hand, pushing it away and startling her.

_"You have not the right. Please refrain from touching our gift to Caleb."_ some strange voice murmured into her head. At first, Jazz thought it was Nebilim -he was the only one who liked babbling in people's minds to mess with them, after all- but the voice sounded warmer, firmer, like royalty almost. She wondered briefly who it might have been, but returned to the more pressing matter of further inspecting the silent android.

"This looks familiar." Jazz murmured to herself, fingers tracing over the surface of a dull gold design that seemed to be permanently attached to Caleb, just below the hollow of his throat. It looked like it was something crafted separately and then fused to him somehow. There were two gaps in the design, one round and the other diamond-shaped. Tiny etchings surrounded both gaps. When Sam joined her, she asked if the Goth recognized the object.

"That's... a Key Crest." Sam murmured, eyes narrowing as she leaned in close to peer at the design, "But it looks like it was made to hold two kinds of stones, since Exspheres and Cruxis Crystals also like coming in two basic shapes. Why would Caleb be wearing a empty Key Crest?"

They left the mystery for later -asking Danny might give them a clue since Caleb was telling the boy his life story- and began to search for access to the metal and circuits hidden under the life-like skin. Tiny cracks in the synthetic flesh were found and it took a bit of experimentation before Sam and Jazz could find the trick to opening them without ripping the outer layers, revealing the shimmering metal underneath. Arms and shoulders first; anything that was bent out of place was carefully pushed back in and held in place with ribbons that Sam fished out of Caleb's satchel, anything that was dislodged, metal bits that obviously came from someplace else, was pulled free and set aside with a quickly scribbled note on where it was found.

It was weird. Jazz kept saying it as a mantra. It was weird. When they opened the panel for his chest, it went from weird to scary. They remembered the Tri-Crystal System from the model in his crystal reader; three crystals connected to one another with panels and wires and a protective chamber. The system in Caleb's chest was battered, panels bent, one crystal broken and dark, another cracking and pulsing weakly, another looking all right but showing some slight damage. The chamber held it all together, but there were smears of black burns along some of the circuitry that surrounded it.

"Oh my God, how the hell did he keep moving when it looks like he could barely get enough mana out at one time?" Sam breathed in shock, "No wonder he stopped casting magic for us. If he had tried, he might have burnt out sooner!" Jazz picked at the metal encasing the three crystals, bending to take a closer look at it. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to see if I can get this open -pass me a screwdriver if you find one- so we can get that broken crystal out. Was there a spare in his bag?" the carrot-top returned. Sam moved off, searching the bags and coming back to her with one extra mana crystal the size of a small apple, the multi-faceted gem shining brightly with blue light. She also held out a flat headed tool and what looked like small tongs.

"Here, Tucker says it's like a screwdriver, but you just fit it to the thing it matches and tug gently to loosen it. Then we use this tweezer thing to lift it straight out because it's got charms engraved on it, and then we... don't look at me like that, he learned this from the codes I found in Caleb's PDA." Sam gave a little scowl at Jazz's chuckles, but they bent to work on the chamber together, lifting aside the metal just enough to pluck the broken crystal out and replace it.

"I wonder if all these engravings and markings mean anything." Jazz murmured, running her fingertip along some of the intricate designs that were etched into the metal around the chamber and throughout the rest of Caleb's metal frame, as far as they could tell. A faint white shimmer seemed to lift out of the metal, wispy and fine like mist, before sinking back into the glowing archaic characters, and the girls glanced at one another, eyes wide. "Okay~. Not doing **that** again. That's so weird." she muttered.

* * *

The skies of Welgaia seemed just as deserted as the ground. Danny sighed as he scanned the buildings around himself, hoping to catch a glimpse of an angel. Tucker had called in, saying that he couldn't pinpoint a map, but he hit on what looked like the basic blueprints used for Caleb and he would start in on some repairs using that and whatever Sam and Jazz had gathered to do their own duties. For the really advanced stuff, Danny and Valerie would have to find an angel that knew about Caleb or had helped in designing him.

"Thanks, Tucker. Try to fix as much as you can. We'll be back soon." Danny replied and sighed as the Fenton Phones went silent, "But Altessa designed and built Caleb on his own. The closest to him like that would be Tabatha, and she became Martel, and I don't think a Goddess will pop in to help us out just because we kinda broke her little brother." He rubbed the back of his head, thinking it over.

"Hey! An angel!" Valerie yelled, shooting off on her hoverboard. The halfa spun around and flew after her, hope rising in him again. It was amazing how quickly they both let the incident of the day before just slide into history; like Valerie had never pulled the gun on him.

They flew on in their race, catching fleeting glimpses of green robes until it dove down for the doors of a small building, tucked away where hardly anyone ever came. Danny pulled up short, suddenly wary even as Valerie continued racing down to start banging on the doors. That had been relatively easy, finding an angel and then following it to this place. Was there something more that would be in their way?

But Nebilim had pretty much used up all his tricks for this level to stop Danny and his friends from progressing; even Caleb's damage was part of that overall plan and now they were free to fix him. Still, something just felt a little wrong.

"Keep banging on the door, Valerie. I'm going to peek inside." he told the girl after joining her at last.

"Like I'm gonna take orders from some dead punk?" the huntress growled even as she continued pounding her fist against the metal. Danny shook his head in mild exasperation, then walked through the wall of the building, intangible and invisible all at once.

An angel sat at a table within the main foyer of the building, turning the pages of an old book with a faint air of disinterest. He wore the green sash that marked him as a member of Huron's Angel Force, but those red clothes with the white streamers, that spiky hairstyle...

"Lloyd Irving!" Danny murmured in shock. Was this another trap? Another of Caleb's recreated Heroes of Union brainwashed into helping Nebilim? But hadn't the rules of the Book said that Nebilim had to leave them actual help to balance out all the crud he put them through?

The older teen seemed to pick up on his murmur, jerking his head up and looking around warily as he set the book down. Wispy wings of dark blue and emerald color flapped gently from his back. Danny strained his memory for explanations; didn't Caleb mention in his stories that Lloyd became an angel at some point?

"I was going to say 'Give me your name and I'll give you mine', but it's not as much fun when you already know it. Cut a guy some slack and tell me yours." the brunet finally complained, tapping his foot against the floor. Danny dropped his invisibility, still giving him a dubious look. _This_ was the Eternal Swordsman, Lloyd Irving, that united the worlds and became a Hero?

"Danny Phantom, of Amity Park." he returned, "I'm here to get help about Caleb."

"Cool magic trick. You gotta show me how you did that sometime." Lloyd remarked with a wide grin. He sat back down and looked up at Danny. "So, Caleb's in trouble again; I'm not too surprised. What's the problem?" he asked, propping a cheek on one hand and gesturing at the half-ghost in invitation.

"You know what's happened with our teacher?" Danny returned warily, "Are you one of his creations?" Lloyd gave him a puzzled look, then smiled grimly and shook his head.

"Martel sent me in to help tip the scales. Your party can't escape as easily as me or the hostages, but that's because Nebilim sealed the exit to keep you and Caleb in here. Only way out now is with the Pin." the swordsman replied, then frowned and pulled his wings back into his body, the shades of color fading like sparkling mist on the wind. It wasn't like Caleb's wings, which would just abruptly disappear, the ends of the 'feathers' curling away like dying flames. "I'm taking the form I had when I lived during the events of Ratatosk's awakening; Caleb has very few memories of me like this, so this was the safest way to appear here, according to Martel anyway." He tilted his head, his expression somewhat unreadable, "Can you tell me what's going on? I'm a little out of the loop, being dead for so long and all."

So Danny explained the situation, rushing through the Trials quickly, pointing out which friends knew who he really was, the weird things going on in the Book with the torches, and all he knew about what went on with the android. Lloyd listened carefully, nodding at some points, squinting at others, and giving a little flinch when Caleb came up as the subject. Danny noticed that last expression.

"Now I understand why Martel said to come like this. If Nebilim's using the faces of me and my friends to fight you, then you'd have a hard time trusting me." the swordsman muttered grimly, "But as long as you know us, our histories, as well as you know each other, I'm sure you'll be able to see past his tricks."

"I heard that you never looked at Caleb the same way after that whole Mithos revival plan got flushed down the toilet." the half-ghost pointed out, "Why's that? You were friends, weren't you? After all he did to help you with Zelos and stuff?"

"He told you? That's a surprise; anything involving Mithos is taboo around Caleb. Personally, I don't like thinking too much about it; it brought up an old wound of mine that I thought I was coping with just fine." Lloyd muttered, folding his arms up over his chest, chin tucking down defensively, "The reason I couldn't look at him the same was because I knew the position he was in at the time, and it hurt that I couldn't really do anything about it. Maybe you can understand." Danny tilted his head, giving a silent nod for him to go on. Lloyd closed his eyes, as though gathering his strength to speak again. He gave a heavy sigh, let his arms drop to his sides, then looked directly at the half-ghost with a seriousness that was more suited to someone else, like the mercenary Danny had seen in the first chapter of the textbook.

"What can you do, Danny, when you suddenly find yourself called a traitor, an enemy of the world, and all the friends you had suddenly look at you with doubt in their eyes as to whether you are _truly_ someone to be trusted?" Lloyd asked him gravely, fists tightening to the point of trembling slightly, "That's what happened to me during the Ratatosk events, and that's what happened to Caleb during the failed revival of Mithos. I eventually got over what happened to me, but Caleb never did; his pain can't fade like mine did. So he keeps living in fear of himself."

"What do I do? About fixing him and helping him get past that? 'Cause this perfect neutrality thing is crap and **you** know it!" Danny argued hotly, "Wasn't he a good guy? Why would he suddenly become neutral, caring only about knowledge and nothing else?" Lloyd sighed.

"You'll probably learn that soon enough. Why should I ruin it?" he returned carelessly, shrugging and spreading his hands, "As for fixing him, just use the Eternal Sword Pin; only, tell Caleb to have the Pin use the Soulfire for its source of mana. You should have plenty now after all the angels and machines you guys took out."

The door finally burst open and Valerie fell into the room, interrupting the conversation as all eyes went to her. She rubbed at her head, groaning softly, then looked up at the two of them. In a flash she was on her feet, hood off so she could get a better look at the brunet, her eyes wide with shock.

"No way... Is that _really_ Lloyd Irving? From the book?" the huntress cried, pointing at him. Lloyd nodded, eyes rolling upward as though already tired of being named so often.

"But if we use the Soulfire, we might not have enough to burn the Book of the Underworld!" Danny shot back at him, jumping back to a more important subject, "Why can't we just use the Pin as it is, or get some parts from around here? Tucker found a blueprint for Caleb in the Archives!" Valerie gave him a confused look and the halfa shook his head, "He said we can fix Caleb if we use the Soulfire to power the Pin he wears."

"What? No way! Risk our lives for one stupid robot? Forget it!"

"Wow; you really have a lot of hate in you, huh?" Lloyd commented in mild surprise, then promptly ignored her, "Anyway, yeah, that's the crux of it. You can't fix him with that blueprint; it's way too old. Caleb's been modified and upgraded so much since our time that you might end up breaking him more if you use that. It's either the Pin with the Soulfire, or leaving him as he is."

The three of them went quiet at that. Danny sighed and took a seat where he was, resting his chin on his hands as he thought it over. Valerie took the time to open her textbook and question Lloyd over the various parts of the Symphonia legends that she didn't quite get. The brunet answered a few of them, but only smiled and shook his head when it came to others.

Tucker called while he was weighing his options. The blueprint didn't quite match what they were looking at, and Sam accidentally scorched a set of engravings. Some weird white mist lifted from them and just sort of hovered there, held in place by the markings on either side of the burned set. Did Danny find any help yet, since Jazz was declaring that they stop working the moment that happened?

"Sort of. Just wait a bit more until we figure this out." Danny sighed and turned back to Lloyd, "They burned something and some mist came out. Any clues?" Lloyd winced.

"That's his soul. Caleb's body has all these charms and spells carved into the metal so the mana that runs through can keep his soul in one piece and tied to him. If too many of those are destroyed, he'll lose his soul. It's the only thing about him I really get when it comes to that." the swordsman returned and rubbed his head, "I know there was something about his Tri-Crystal thing involved too, but that gets complicated and... yeah." Danny winced in sympathy and Lloyd chuckled. "He confuses me, too, with all the stuff inside him." he remarked, then cleared his throat and tried to look serious again, "You're supposed to be the leader here, right? Are you willing to risk Soulfire to save a friend? The amount taken out to fix him depends on how much damage he's built up."

Danny sighed, standing up and rubbing the back of his neck as Valerie glared at him. "Okay, okay. I get it. If we leave him like he is, he'll eventually die and we're all screwed. We should still have a couple of Trials left to go, so we can build back the fire we use up."

"Don't worry too much. You still have an extra source on you, but I'm sure you'll figure that out soon, too." Lloyd told him with a grin, then reached out to put a hand on Danny's shoulder as the two teens made to leave. Danny held still, feeling a strange tingling where the brunet's hand made contact with his shoulder; it wasn't anything like when another ghost touched him. What **was** Lloyd, if he could do that to a ghost? A spirit, or maybe a _real_ angel? "Can you do me a favor? As one friend of Caleb's to another?" the brunet asked quietly.

"Sure." Danny returned, giving him an odd look. He didn't refer to himself as a Hero? Maybe he didn't think he deserved that title, after what happened with Caleb and whatever the Ratatosk thing did to him. Lloyd looked a little depressed and ashamed, eyes gazing downward almost pitifully.

"It took me a really long time to figure out where Caleb stood in things after what happened on Derris-Kharlan, that day everything went to hell. And I didn't know how to say it until just before I died, so I never got the chance." he murmured, "I thought he understood, when I gave him the Eternal Sword Pin, that one he still wears, but I guess not. So, when he's fixed and aware again, can you give him my message?" Danny nodded, curious to know what Lloyd would say to try to patch things up with the android countless years after his passing. The brunet finally looked him full in the face, determined expression in place of the shamed one. "Tell him that I don't trust Mithos with the power he has, no matter how much I wanted him to live in peace with us, because Mithos would abuse that power. But Mithos is gone; he's been gone a long time. I trust Caleb with the world he helped create, because Caleb has always been there." he told Danny, then gave him a small smile, "That's all. Tell him that exactly. He should get the idea."

Danny left the building with another of those weird feelings that he should know more than he did. It wasn't a good one; usually it was something Vlad did or said that gave him those feelings. But since it was all Heroes giving him that feeling, he wondered if it was all right to have it and not think too hard on it. He was only fourteen after all; if he thought too hard, wouldn't it just make his head hurt?


	23. Chapter 23

23

Five teens clustered around the silent android after sharing information. Sam held the box of Soulfire in her hands, a grim expression on her face. She had also been vocal against the idea of using the silver flames to do the fixing, and sat there with a sour look when Danny pointed out that Valerie said the same thing. After the small disaster with burning the set of engravings, Jazz and Tucker went about putting everything back the way they'd been found inside Caleb, redressed the android and propped him up against a set of crates they pushed over from inside one of the towers.

"Here goes." Danny sighed and called out to the redhead, "Good morning, Caleb!"

There was a twitch on his face, and the android's eyes slowly opened, one still dark, the other lit dimly.

"W-welcome. Please... please... state your... b-b-business." he managed to respond in a broken voice before blinking in confusion. He lifted his head to gaze up at the group. "Is something... wrong?" he asked of them.

"I got some help from Lloyd about how to fix you." Danny told him, taking in the wide-eyed, then wary, expressions that flickered across the android's face, "This Lloyd was from the Ratatosk events; do you know him?" Caleb closed his eyes, shaking his head slowly.

"N-no... oh-oh. I was off-offline during those m-months." he returned, "Had to ask... gather... from everyone... lots... to know." He managed a sheepish grin at Danny. "No mem-memory... past an ambush by Van-Van-Vanguard soldiers. Woke up surround-rounded by everyone near Izoold. Was buried there... whole time."

"Explain it later. Right now, we need to repair you." Jazz told him, "Save your strength. Danny?"

"Right. Lloyd said you have to use the Eternal Sword Pin to..."

"No."

Danny stared at Caleb, the android giving him a flat glare. That was quick.

"Let me finish! Geez!" the halfa shot back at him, annoyed, "Use the Pin, but have it draw its power from the Soulfire to fix you! That way the Pin's power is still pretty much there and there will be enough to get us out of here."

"N-no. Your lives... in the fire... won't..." Caleb argued brokenly, teeth clenched together as he hissed out the words, "Won't risk it... for me... No."

"It's not _entirely_ our lives in it. What about the flames from the torches and the mana from all the monsters that we defeated?" Tucker pointed out, "If we use up some Soulfire, and we still have some Trials left to go through, then we should be able to build up the fire again." Danny nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, and Lloyd said we still have an extra source with us somewhere. If we can find that, we can still boost our Soulfire amount!" he exclaimed and turned to Sam, "How much do we have?" Sam only shrugged, opening the box to show the group.

Silver flames surged outward, wrapping around the teens and android as it flickered and lit up the street. Valerie's eyes sparkled in awe, her hands rising to cup the fire in her hands. It wrapped around her fingers, licking without burning. Danny watched her curiously. It seemed a lot like the white fire that wrapped around his own limbs when Caleb lit the torches. Could it be that the extra Soulfire Lloyd was talking about was...?

He was still peering at his own hand when Sam closed the box and gave him a strange look, one eyebrow arched up high enough to disappear into her hair. Danny took another second to register her staring, then quickly set his hand down and gave a shrug in silent response to whatever she was asking with her expression. Soulfire was based on the mana of their lives, but Danny was traveling as a ghost, which _technically_ meant he wasn't alive. It was possible that their Soulfire wasn't counting him because of that, so the amount they had was off by whatever it was he was worth as a living person. He wouldn't be able to add his mana unless he was human, and he couldn't be human as long as Valerie was around and able to see him.

Maybe he could find a way to add himself later?

"Well, see? That should be plenty to fix you and still burn the Book, right?" Danny asked of the android with a hopeful grin. Caleb had watched the fire with the same awed expression, then gave him a sharp glare.

"You w-w-wish. If I use that... we'll lose m-more when we move again-gain... not enough." he groused and Danny huffed.

"We still have at least two Trials left! Those, plus more torches, and we'll be good again!" _'Especially if I can somehow sneak in my own life as a human. That must be why the fire kept burning me; my part of the Soulfire was backing up into me and not adding to the rest because I'm almost always in ghost form!'_

"D-don't c-c-care~!"

"Oh, you stubborn hunk of metal!" Sam yelled in exasperation, "Just use the Pin and the Soulfire and make yourself useful again! How do you expect us to keep going when you sound like a CD skipping?"

The redhead didn't answer, just gave her a baleful look and went back to staring down at himself almost glumly. The wisp of white that Sam had accidentally let loose from him was hidden away, trapped under the layers of clothing, synthetic flesh and metal paneling. No one was sure of how Caleb would react if he knew that part of his soul was drifting around freely. No one wanted to know.

"Lloyd had a message for you." Danny suddenly said. _'Maybe if he knew what Lloyd wanted to say for so long, it might help change his mind?'_ Caleb gave him a puzzled expression, head tilting curiously. "He said that he didn't trust Mithos with the power he had even when he wanted him to live with everyone in Symphonia, because Mithos would abuse that power." the half-ghost told him, watching Caleb give a pained little look at those words, "But Mithos is gone and has been for a long time." The android gave him a second confused look, murmuring something in silence. "Lloyd trusts you with the world you helped create, because you've always been there." Danny finished, "That's what he wanted to say, but he never got the chance to tell you. He thought you would understand when he gave you the Pin, but he wanted me to tell you that, just to be sure."

"That's a weird message to tell someone. The tenses are off." Sam remarked dryly as Caleb glanced away, considering the words with a guarded look on his face. After a moment, his eyes lit up -so to speak- and he turned back to Danny with a wide smile.

"I get it. I kept t-telling everyone that I w-w-wasn't... and I thought they didn't believe-lieve me... but Lloyd d-did. Lloyd believed-eved me, just like Wren believed me, and Pepper, too-too-too. They believed me, which means th-th-that eventually everyone-everyone else did too..." he exclaimed and rubbed at one eye, tears running down as he laughed, "I'm not... never was-was... and he believed-lieved me."

"**Now** will you use the Soulfire to fix yourself?" Danny asked, "We're counting on you to help us out, and I don't like seeing you look broken and everything." Caleb nodded, the motion jerky, but the smile never faded.

"We'll have to-to work h-h-hard to rebuild." he warned, "But if we move-move fast and battle f-fast, we'll get m-m-more Soulfire easily." With that, he placed a hand over the Pin on his jacket and closed his eyes. _"Eternal Sword Pin, draw m-mana from the well-well of Soulfire, light of the lives of m-my companions and I, and repair-repair my damaged form."_

The box in Sam's hands opened of its own accord, and the Pin glowed brightly, siphoning silver flames into itself. From there, it spread an aura of white over the android, lighting him up with a soft glow that made him appear more angelic than the actual angels that Danny had been chased by. The teens watched the whole process, growing restless as time went on and the Pin continued pulling from the Soul Stone. Valerie complained of a strange sick feeling in her stomach and the others nodded in silent agreement, faint grimaces on their faces. Danny turned his attention inward, trying to see if he felt the same discomfort. It was vague, some unsettling feeling that drifted around in his stomach, but that could be coming from the batch of questions that were spinning in his head, thoughts chasing each other over what more Caleb was hiding from them all. What was it that Lloyd was _really_ saying with that message, and what did Caleb mean when he said he 'wasn't'?

Finally, the glow faded, the Pin stopped drawing Soulfire, and Caleb sat up straighter, clasping his hands together just below his chin as though in prayer. He held still for a few moments, then opened his eyes with a grin, both shining with their normal emerald green color.

"All systems are back to full strength!" he reported cheerfully, dropping his hands back to a more normal position, "I'm fully repaired and good to go! Thank you all for your help; I know it was tough on you to let me use the Soulfire."

"One percent? Why do you still have one percent of damage?" Tucker questioned in confusion, scratching his head as he gazed down at his PDA. The group looked to him in surprise and he lifted the device with a frown, pointing at the counter on the screen just below an image of Caleb's face. "My PDA's synced to you after yours uploaded some weird app to mine." he explained, "Now it's showing your damage meter, and it says one percent."

"Who the hell said you could go through my stuff?" Caleb growled and glared at the rest of Team Phantom, "What **else** did you see?"

"Not much beyond all the sentimental stuff you seem to cart around. Everything else was in that dwarven language or whatever, so we couldn't read anything." Sam pointed out dryly, "We used the codes on your PDA to find your blueprint and see if we could fix you with that, but..." She shrugged. The android covered his face with his hands, uttering a soft groan.

"Of **course** it wouldn't work; I'm self-modified, so I memorized my own schematics and shared the data with my androids. I don't have an actual copy in the Archives yet." he grumbled and shot Tucker an annoyed glare, "You didn't do anything else to my unit, did you? ...Okay. And I'm always going to have one percent; _Forsaken_ is a spell that uses Dark mana, and I'm innately 'allergic' to Dark mana. It causes a little bit of damage to me since it cycles through my systems as well, but never enough to worry over." He stood and gathered his packs and the Wonder Fork, joined by the other teens as they prepared to leave the level. "Let's see. The teleporter that lets us leave Welgaia should be..." Caleb scanned the area quickly, then pointed in one direction, "that way. By the storage building for mana fragments." And with that, he walked off, brisk and with a grin on his face.

* * *

"How did you wind up buried for months on end?" Jazz asked of the android as the group followed the street towards storage buildings, "That sounds like quite a tale." Caleb winced, rubbing his head sheepishly.

"Ah, I was hoping you would forget that." he sighed, "It was a couple of years after the worlds were united. I heard rumors that Lloyd had killed a lot of people in New Palmacosta, so I wanted to go and find out for myself what happened. Wren and Ginger both left my group about the same time in order to work on some new recipes and keep Symphonia's health up; I saw Wren once, teaching a couple of kids a recipe for feeding monsters, of all things, but he took off before I could talk to him. Pepper had been called away by Martel to help guard the Tree and I got a message saying I couldn't contact her for anything anymore. Not until after I was told things were safe."

"So you were totally alone for your trip?" Valerie huffed, "Smart move there. Why didn't you join up with one of the other Heroes of Union?" She was out of her huntress gear, hands gripping her backpack tightly as she walked alongside the android. Caleb shrugged.

"I was on a journey to gather the knowledge of the world. Figured no one would bother a scholar, you know? Especially one that looked like Zelos, the Chosen of Tethe'alla and a Hero of Union." he replied curtly, "Anyway, I was alone and heading for New Palmacosta by way of a boat from Izoold. On the road to Izoold, I got ambushed by a squad of soldiers calling themselves the Vanguard. They attacked, I fought back, but between their numbers and me being relatively unarmed and not very powerful when it comes to spells at the time... well, I lost pretty badly. I remember getting hit by something really strong, and then nothing."

"The Heroes found you near Izoold. You were buried there." Sam muttered, "They woke you up then, right?"

"Yeah, after the whole thing with Ratatosk was over. The attack had knocked me offline and no one else but the Heroes, Wren and Pepper knew my awakening code. According to them, the Vanguard had assumed I was really Zelos and tried to get rid of me to strike a blow against Tethe'alla and the Church of Martel's Dream." Caleb agreed with a nod, "When I shut down, they thought I was dead, so they left me there. Perhaps some travelers passing on the road saw me there and also thought I was dead. They didn't really recognize me as Zelos or as my true self, so they simply wrapped me in a blanket and buried me by the road. Martel had to tell everyone where I was; **still** hasn't let me live that one down."

"Buried alive. Brrr~." Danny mumbled, hugging himself as he grimaced at the thought. Caleb laughed, and Jazz picked up the undertones of self-mocking again. She frowned; apparently, befriending Danny still wasn't enough to break past all the walls around the android.

"They did the world a favor by putting me out of sight for so long. The way Lloyd and Marta put it, if the Vanguard had learned I was an automated doll, and a living one as well, someone named Richter would have used me in a plot to seal the gateway to Niflheim for all time." he returned dryly, "And since part of that plot involved using a Cruxis Crystal... well, let's just say me and Cruxis Crystals don't mix well, and leave it at that."

The teleporter disc came into view just ahead of them, shining like some otherworldly beacon, and Danny sighed in relief. Finally! Now they could get out of this place and move to the next level!

Eager to get to their journey of collecting Soulfire, and bolstered by the fact that his parents -along with the hostages- were free of the Book, Caleb was now a friend and opening up more, and was back to full strength, Danny happily raced through the air to the disc. He touched down on it and turned to wave at his friends, laughing.

"Come on! Let's go!" he called out and waited with mock impatience as the teens and android broke into a run to join him, yelling at him in a mix of shared joy, annoyance, or light cheer. This was much better. Traveling with people he cared about to save everyone, and with morale high after repairing Caleb and knowing they were so close to having enough Soulfire to beat Nebilim and burn the Book; _this_ was the way to go.

They joined him on the disc, gathering close to fit on the large pad as Caleb gave the floor nearby a dubious glare.

"Odd. I thought it would activate, but I guess not." he murmured, then shook his head, "Probably because we're not going to Vinhelm." He said nothing else, just grinned over at Danny as the teleporter shone even brighter, taking them all to the next level and leaving Welgaia behind.

* * *

Quaint, thatched rooftops of houses peeked over a lush green forest, the tops of mountains dotting the distance. Smoke from chimneys rose from the nearby town, and the sky was clear and wide, a beautiful shade of blue. A trail wound through the forest and down past the group, sloping off as a sign that the town also sat on a mountain.

Danny watched it and a small creek wind their way downwards before turning to take in the awed expressions on his friends' faces. This was totally unlike anything they were expecting. Valerie blinked a few times, looking around.

"Wow~." she murmured and gave a low whistle, "This is _nice_; really, **really** _nice_." A smile grew on her face and once again Danny felt that pang of regret that their relationship died so quickly because of the secret lives they led. Caleb turned his head sharply to glare at him, as though aware of what he'd been thinking, and the halfa shook himself off.

"This place is beautiful." Sam agreed absently, eyes sparkling as she turned in place and gazed at the natural environment, "There's hardly any pollution, this forest looks so healthy, and that creek is so pure, you can see straight to the bottom!" She hurried over, splashing through the eddies and kneeling to dip her hands in and bring up a small amount to her face. She closed her eyes and sniffed at it delicately. "Mmm, it even smells clean!" she purred and drank the water she held in her hands before opening her eyes and turning to her friends, "You guys! This water's incredible! See? **This** is what water should be like, instead of being used as a cesspool for industrial dumping!"

"Oh God, is she gonna give us another speech?" Jazz groaned softly as Danny flew over to join her, a grin on his face. Tucker only shrugged, watching Valerie carefully as she took a few steps up the trail towards the town.

"Don't go ahead of us yet." Caleb called towards the huntress, stepping over the rocks lining the creek to stand watch near the two teens.

Danny sampled some of the water and blinked in surprise. It _was_ really good, like 'only the rich can drink this' good. How sad was that, to have the water that flowed so freely here be so expensive and bottled up for only the elite to drink? Sam turned from the creek and ran her fingers over a few plants growing nearby, sprouting up between the rocks and pebbles.

"I don't recognize these flowers. I know lots about plants, but these ones..." she murmured. She looked up as Caleb hopped on the stones over to her, bending to peer at the plants himself, hands stuffed into his pockets casually.

"I know those. They grew during Symphonia's era." he remarked with an odd tone, "They're satays. I use them in my cooking." He studied the plants a little longer, then straightened, "Let's keep moving. We're low on food supplies and I'm guessing you're all hungry. We can stock up at Hi- I mean, that town." Caleb gestured rapidly as he walked off almost distractedly. Sam and Danny glanced at one another, then turned and followed him as well, gathering everyone together to walk up the path.

The town was quaint, lovely even, and Valerie laughed happily, throwing her arms out to encompass the view as the group reached its border.

"This is it! This is my town!" she exclaimed, eyes bright with joy. She spun to face everyone else, a wide smile on her face. "This is the town I always dreamed of living in when I got older." The smile faded a little. "Well, back when money wasn't a problem." She shook her head and grinned again, "I used to look in all those mountain travel brochures, and I always pictured myself living in one of the luxury cottages, surrounded by the forests and fresh mountain air."

"That's a nice dream to have." Danny agreed, smiling at her. She glared at him and he shrank back, puzzled.

"Yeah, and you **ruined** it! Stupid ghost." she growled, "Now I _can't_ have my dream. The only thing I've got is destroying all of you evil ghosts so the world can be safe." She turned her back on him and went back to gazing at the town. "Figures that the only place I can ever see my dream come true is inside some demented Book out to enslave humanity or something." she grumbled. Sam folded her arms over her chest, one eyebrow raised on a blank expression.

"Well, now we know who's next to have a Trial." she remarked loudly. Valerie turned abruptly, scowling.

"I already told you! I don't have any sins!" she argued back, "Now are we going in or not? I thought Caleb said we needed food, and yeah, I **am** hungry!" The group sighed collectively and began walking in, heading for the center of the town.

People milled about in their daily routine, dressed simply and several carrying baskets of goods or shopping bags. The houses and buildings were built of natural materials, and wide glass storefronts displayed goods and services, signs hanging over their doors that spelled their names out. Danny looked around in awe before tugging on Caleb's sleeve to catch his attention.

"Hey, what's this town called? You seemed to know it earlier." he asked and looked puzzled at the android's pensive expression, "What is it? Is something wrong?" Caleb blinked, surprised out of his thoughts, then gave the halfa a small, tight smile.

"Do you remember the stories I told you about my life?" he asked softly and Danny nodded, "At one point, I went with Wren to the location of the Wonder Organization's base in Sylvarant to archive their recipes and history. That location was in a mountain town called Hima. This place looks a great deal like Hima."

"So we're kinda visiting your friend's hometown, huh?" Danny murmured and went back to gazing at the shops in a new light, "He lived in a nice place." He didn't need to look back to know that the android was smiling a little more genuinely.

They entered one shop to buy some supplies and the teens milled about near the produce and canned goods while Caleb set to work rounding up everything they would need for the journey. Jazz was the first to notice something odd about the quiet little town. She elbowed her brother gently and bent to whisper into his ear.

"Everyone's staring at us." she told him and Danny jerked his head up, scanning their surroundings. The people were quick, but he caught glimpses of some turning their heads away, averting their eyes, even a couple that kept watch on them from askance, wary -fearful?- looks on their faces. He didn't like the feelings **that** was giving him. He headed to Caleb's side at the register, and noted the people drift to give him wide berth. Okay, that was weird.

The android was already paying for several sacks of goods, handing over a quantity of dull yellow coins. Danny showing up by him made the clerk jump and step back quickly, which Caleb watched with narrowing eyes. He gathered the supplies, nudged the halfa and led the way outside.

Outside wasn't much better. Word somehow spread about them, and now everyone on the street was watching them, whispering to one another behind their hands and wearing the same worried looks as the people in the shop. Valerie didn't seem to notice, running to the next store and peering excitedly into the window at the various clothes on display. Sam and Tucker picked up on the stares, and fell into protective positions around Danny as they walked, flanking him from behind while Jazz and Caleb took the front positions.

At first, he was confused. Why were his friends settling into a guard around **him** when they were all being looked at?

"Guys?" he questioned, looking over his shoulder at Sam for an answer.

"This is Valerie's level, and this is her dream town." the Goth replied in a low tone, serious in voice and expression, "How much you wanna bet that her Trial is going to involve hating you?" Danny stared at her, eyes wide with shock.

_'Wow; you really have a lot of hate in you, huh?'_

Ouch; Lloyd must have been on to something there. For someone who was supposed to be such a clueless guy, he was awfully sharp about things. Maybe it was because the Lloyd he talked to was the older one? But at that time Valerie was against Caleb getting help using Soulfire, so how could he...?

"There they are, officers! Those outsiders are traveling with a ghost!"

The group halted at those words, turning in unison to watch a woman point them out to a few uniformed men. Valerie hurried to join them, irritation flickering across her face as the officers came their way with grim expressions.

"Oh, what did you people get us into _now_?" she demanded of them, "I told you the ghost kid was gonna be nothing but trouble for us!"

"You people! Identify yourselves! What's your reason for being in the township of Damon-Gray?" the officers declared once they reached the group. Valerie's eyes widened at the name, her mouth dropping open as the others gave small cries of astonishment.

"Damon-Gray? You mean this place is named after Valerie's dad?" Sam blurted out in shock.

"Our Dame Gray's father founded this town, and she maintains its peace with her just ruling." one officer corrected sternly, "Now answer our questions!"

"We're travelers passing through to another destination." Caleb put in quickly, frowning slightly, "All we wished to do was resupply and rest for a night before moving on. We offer no harm and our coin is good."

"Those who journey through Damon-Gray must be tested as defined by law." the officers declared, circling to surround the group, "The ghost is under arrest and will be brought to the prison to be dealt with personally by Dame Gray!"

_"What?"_ Danny cried, alarmed by the sudden appearance of shimmering bracelets clapping over his wrists. He struggled with them as his friends yelped in surprise and protest, the other men bringing out small devices and pressing them against their bodies swiftly.

"You can't do this to us! What about our rights?" Sam yelled in a fury, shaking her fists and squirming away from the little machine touching her arm, "Let Danny go right now! He hasn't done anything to you!"

"Sir, this one isn't registering! He's not human!" an officer declared, pulling his device away from Caleb, who looked back at him with disdain, "You're under arrest, too!"

"Why the heck are they getting arrested?" Jazz exclaimed angrily, "What's wrong with them being what they are? Are we getting arrested, too?"

"Valerie, what kind of messed up town were you dreaming about?" Tucker demanded of the huntress. She only stood there, frowning as she thought things over.

"Hey!" she called to the officers, "What's this law you're talking about? Why are you arresting those two, and not the rest of us?"

"Our Dame Gray has protected this town from the cruelties of ghosts and kept our lands pure of them." one returned in a proud tone, "She has set into motion the laws that keep Damon-Gray the paradise it is for humanity. All non-humans are illegal, and are automatically charged with crimes against nature and humanity! Those who aid them are considered traitors and will be dealt with swiftly by Dame Gray!"

"That's a load of bull!" Sam snapped at the officers and lunged for the one holding Danny tethered to a chain attached to the handcuffs, "Let him go!" Another of the men stepped in with more handcuffs and despite Danny yelling for Sam to get away, she wound up in them and also placed under arrest.

"Don't even **try** putting something like that on me." Caleb growled at the officer coming towards him with another set of shining handcuffs. He danced back lightly, pulling the Wonder Fork free and readying for a spell, the circle of light blooming at his feet, _"Howl, oh raging wind, and cleave my enemies with your blade!"_ He lashed the fork towards the officers. _"Wind Blade!"_

The spell lashed into them, blades of air knocking them about and granting Danny and Sam the chance to run from them, Jazz and Tucker joining in to further shield them. Valerie simply watched, a faintly amused look on her face.

"I can't phase through these things!" Danny griped, tugging on the handcuffs, "What the hell are they made of anyway?"

"It's gotta be something magical; that's the only thing your ghost powers don't work on." Sam returned, glaring daggers at her own handcuffs.

"We have to get outta here. Come on!" Jazz blurted out and waved them on, her brother taking to the air and shooting ahead to help clear a path, people screaming and fleeing the streets as they saw him come through. Valerie joined them in running, caught up in the flow when Caleb herded her back into the group and stayed in the back to act as rear guard.

* * *

It wasn't long before they were out of the town and breathing hard on the trail where they first appeared in the level. Danny and Sam sat back to back, panting as they went back to tugging on their handcuffs. Jazz groaned softly, sitting down roughly and rubbing the back of her neck.

"That was just insane!" she cried in tempered outrage, "What kind of madness is gripping that town where the people freely violate the rights of travelers like that?"

"I think they had a good idea going." Valerie mused aloud, still grinning, though it now had a faintly smug edge to it. The teens took to staring at her, abject horror on their faces. Caleb only raised an eyebrow, mumbled something to himself and set to digging through his satchel for his tools again. The huntress scoffed and waved towards them. "Well, take a look! Because of ghosts, our town's constantly being attacked and wrecked, especially **that** ghost there!" she declared angrily, jabbing a finger in Danny's direction before swinging it to point at Caleb, "And because of **this** glorified Ken doll, we've got magical crap trying to take over the world from Amity Park! Why can't ghosts just stay in the Ghost Zone, and you magic freaks stay wherever it is you came from, and us humans can keep our world in peace?"

"Ooh, that's a sharp discrimination speech." Caleb murmured, picking out one tool and pulling Sam's handcuffs close to work on the locks, "If that's the case, then, please, do tell the world to stop using ectotechnology, it's a science that uses ghost energy to run and we can't have that in the world, can we?"

"Eh?" Valerie blinked dumbly, hand going limp at the odd return question. The android shrugged, clicking open the handcuffs and tossing them aside to work on Danny's.

"Ghosts stay in the Ghost Zone, fine; just give back everything that requires their energy so they have no reason to keep coming out." he replied, "And for that matter, I'd like for all of you to stop eating the recipes Wren and I left this world, as well as return all the goods crafted using techniques that are magical in origin, like elevators, walkways, automatic doors, automated bridges, cars, ships, planes, computers, telecommunications, probably all forms of medicine..."

"God, that's almost every technical advancement we've ever made!" Tucker cried in alarm, "You pull all that away, humanity will be stuck in the Dark Ages!" Caleb smiled brightly, waving a finger at them.

"Almost! We'll have to take back religion, too; that's also magical in origin. Go back to praying to the sun and the moon, and hope you can convince a plant to take in your soul when you die." he returned cheerfully and looked at Valerie's paling expression, "That should be enough, right, Valerie? All my 'magical crap' goes with me to Derris-Kharlan. Oh, wait, wait, wait... I forgot one." His smile turned sharp, almost vicious with the way his teeth showed. "I'll have to take back my sister and her Tree. That's another magic thing, isn't it? Martel and the Yggdrasill Tree; I'll take them both back to Derris-Kharlan and let the world split itself asunder. She's the one holding it all together, you know; didn't you read the book? But I'm sure humans can keep a planet together without her. You'll have the technical know-how to weave some ropes and tie on a few rocks for anchors, right? After all, forging and smelting metal originally was a dwarven craft, which makes it semi-magical. I should know; I was built by a dwarf.

"Who knows? You might even be able to survive a few minutes on a planet that's separating into two, provided the disappearing atmosphere doesn't make your heads explode and your bodies fry." Caleb seemed to consider something, then gave the huntress an askance look, eyes half-closing and shining with something not quite right, "Afterwards, I think I'll build a new world in its place... a world just for my sister and me." he murmured. The teens just stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Man, you can be sadistic when you want to." Sam finally remarked dryly, though her own eyes were round with shock. Caleb shrugged, that vicious air swept away as though it was never there.

"That's the dream Valerie wanted. I just thought I'd point out all the flaws in trying to separate everyone out so purely like that. We all depend on one another, and the variety of peoples and cultures are necessary to help us all live and grow and continue to exist." he commented idly and held up the second pair of handcuffs with a smile, "Well, now that we're all free again, who's hungry?"

The teens only stared at him, looking somewhat sick. Caleb tilted his head in confusion.

"What? Is it something I said?" he questioned innocently.

* * *

Evening fell over the forest as the teens sat around a small fire, setting up camp by the trail since it wasn't likely they'd be able to return to Damon-Gray for a proper place to rest. Caleb resumed his cooking duties, and food quality jumped from Danny's usual level, which annoyed him to some degree until Sam pointed out that the android had much longer to practice. Pescatore; the Goth pointed out her vegetarianism meant no fish or chicken either, and Caleb put Danny to work on making her a new meal that lacked meats of any kind.

"Oh, _now_ he wants me to cook." Danny muttered under his breath as he cut up vegetables for a stew. Sam helped him out by stirring the pot, grinning at him.

"Well, take it as a sign that he trusts you enough to make something in his place. He's washing the dishes, after all." she returned and jerked her head in the direction of the creek where the redhead sat with the assorted wooden bowls and utensils for scrubbing. "What he said to Valerie about taking everything away from humanity that was magical in origin... something about that whole speech bugs me for some reason." she added in a low whisper, eyebrows furrowed together in thought. Danny rolled his eyes.

"You mean besides the whole 'taking everything away' part?" he retorted with a chuckle. Sam snorted and playfully punched his shoulder.

"_Yeees~_, besides that!" she told him and rubbed at her chin, "I just can't put my finger on it, though."

She said nothing else about it for the rest of dinner, and Danny soon forgot about it as bedding was spread out and everyone settled in for the night. He drifted tentatively near Caleb, wondering if he'd be chased off like he'd been the last few times, and jumping in mid-air when the android held out blankets towards him.

"Set up, but don't sleep yet." he remarked with a grin, "Wait until Valerie's asleep." Danny accepted the bedding cheerfully, glad that things were finally starting to normalize again -or at least what passed as normal for him lately- before spotting the handcuffs dangling from Caleb's other hand.

"What are you gonna do with those?" he asked and the android lifted them for another look.

"I thought I would return these to the town." he replied and shrugged, "Perhaps take a look around and see what else can be seen." He paused, frowning slightly, before shaking his head and grinning again. "There shouldn't be any problems for tonight, as we haven't seen the Trial symbol anywhere yet, so you should be fine on your own for a little while." he added, "Take first watch if you feel like it; I'll be back in about an hour, provided nothing gets in my way." With that, Caleb jingled the shimmering handcuffs and walked back towards the town.

So Danny set up his own makeshift bed and decided to keep watch anyway. A town nearby full of people that really hated ghosts and other non-human beings made him edgy, and he wasn't comfortable knowing that Caleb just walked back there, but he was better suited for the job; just dump the cuffs somewhere and run back, casting spells from a distance if anyone tried catching him. Since everything there seemed to be using magical anti-ghost tech, other magic could get through it easily. Right?

And if there were torches there, well, he could light those, and Danny would know once his body caught fire again.

Speaking of Soulfire... Danny reached back and grabbed his blanket, wrapping it around himself and making sure he was facing away from Valerie, who was stargazing from her own set of blankets. He often wondered where she got them, before noting that Caleb carried extras of nearly everything. From there he just assumed that he also gave her blankets. Once he was properly wrapped and sheltered from view, Danny called up the transformation ring, letting it split in two and pass over his body to turn him human again.

The night air was cool and he huddled under the blanket, surprised by the feeling. It had been a fairly long time since he felt the natural world as a human; he wasn't counting that short time as himself in Welgaia since everything there felt so freaking artificial. He wondered if staying human for a while would give the Soul Stone time to realize he was a living person and add his now purer mana blend into the Soulfire.

_"You of the line of the land of the living and dead,"_ a familiar voice crooned into his mind, _"how fare you this evening? You, who willingly chose to give of the lives of your companions to spare the tainted angel who walks with you?"_

Danny clenched his teeth tightly, feeling a burning anger flash through his whole body. Just when he thought he'd have a peaceful night, a good night to sit and relax as a human! But hold on, did Nebilim just say living **and** dead? So, he knew... that he was both at the same time...

"What do you want, Nebilim?" he growled, "And don't insult my friends. We all chose to help Caleb, and he's not tainted! He's just got some issues." The voice in his head chuckled.

_"You are so trusting, so naïve. Yes, I see why he would want to keep you close for his own use."_ Nebilim returned snidely, _"Tell me, boy, what would you think if I let you in on a little secret, a secret I possess concerning the Fallen Angel?"_

"I'd think the same thing I always did. That you're full of crap and we're gonna come and kick the mana out of you." Danny returned bitingly. Nebilim tsked him, the clicking of a disembodied, unseen tongue making the halfa shiver, and he drew the blanket closer, hoping Caleb would come back soon.

_"Little Phantom, why do you think he is called the Fallen Angel? And the name has existed long before he discovered his immunity to time."_

Danny found himself pausing at that. It was certainly true that Caleb held back a lot of information about himself, but he said he would eventually tell him everything, right? The 'Fallen Angel' thing just kept coming up more and more often as they wandered through the Book, and Caleb never addressed it beyond that time claim. Anytime it was mentioned by anyone, he just ignored it or got annoyed. And then there was that entry that Tucker found; Fallen Angel, Revision M. What did that mean, exactly?

Nebilim didn't speak anymore after that, but Danny figured the king thought he did enough damage for one night. He didn't want to doubt a friend, especially one he barely made and Caleb was still hiding behind a few walls. Perfect neutrality was starting to break down around him, but it was still pretty solid. If he acted on bad information, or even looked like he was getting distant from the android because of doubt, who was to say that Caleb wouldn't reinforce those walls and never let anyone in again?

"Stupid King of the Underworld, babbling stupid stuff in people's heads, only doing it 'cause his stupid gate got sealed up in the Ratatosk thing and we're coming to burn his stupid Book full of stupid demons and stupid monsters and stupid Trials..."

* * *

The town was dark and quiet, all citizens were inside their homes now. A few officers patrolled the streets, calling out the time and declaring it past curfew, all those caught outside would be arrested. They carried lanterns, golden auras of light radiating outward as they swung in the officers' hands. Street-lamps were unlit; curious, why have them if they weren't used?

Caleb peered at them from where he stood between two shops, his clothes already shifting to take on his teacher's outfit, the funeral-like garb of black coloring that he wore the first day he showed up in class in Amity Park more than a week and a half ago. The shadows worked with him here, hiding him well despite his red hair. He regarded the street-lamps again. If they weren't lit, did that mean that they were the torches for this level?

He tied the handcuffs to his waist and darted out to investigate, waiting for that time the patrols were furthest away to move. The street-lamp looked simple in design, but there was a small hatch in the pole that Caleb opened for a quick peek, finding a small pile of kindling meant for the Soulfire. He grinned and aimed the Sorcerer's Ring at it, firing off a tiny burst to light the kindling. Green fire spilled from the glass chamber at the top, a sizable plume to help rebuild the lost amount.

Footsteps from a distance alerted him that people were coming, and the lights from lanterns began to grow as they came closer. The android darted off, hurrying to the next street-lamp to light. There were whistles and calls for attention, to hurry and get him, and Caleb managed to light three more lamps before ducking into an isolated shop set against an artificially created 'face' of the mountain. He sat there, back against the door, listening to the officers run by the shop in a mad dash to hunt him down.

When the light passed and all was dark and quiet again, Caleb stood to examine his surroundings, eyes glowing briefly as light played over the area swiftly, just long enough to give him an idea what he was looking at once he switched to night vision. He blinked, the light going out, and he simply stood in silence, memories drifting around him. The walls were lined with over-sized spoons and forks, different sizes, shapes and made of different materials, much like the Wonder Fork strapped to his back. He reached out, passing a hand over the dusty and cobwebbed utensils, then withdrew almost sadly.

"Yeah, it's just like the Egg Beater in Hima." Caleb murmured to himself, his eyes widening just as he said that, "If that's so, then maybe...!" He hurried to the shop counter, swinging himself over it to land on the other side. More utensils lined the wall behind the counter, and Caleb reached for a wooden spoon that was on display, pulling on it. The spoon gave way, acting as a lever that opened a secret door in the wall touching the mountain. He watched it slide open slowly, disuse and lack of maintenance explaining the creaking and the amount of dust that fell from the door as it moved.

"Nebilim, what are you planning for me here, in this level designed for Valerie's sin?" the android mused softly, cautiously stepping towards the open tunnel. He peered into the darkness before entering the tunnel, walking through it with some amount of wariness.

The sound of laughter began to rise around him, soft at first, then louder, until it seemed like its source was only a few feet away from him. Caleb halted in place, pulling the Fork free and readying himself for combat in a cramped space.

_"You are so easily manipulated by your memories of that precious era and your treasured little companion."_ Nebilim purred, _"Fallen Angel, do you truly believe that the children who travel with you now will be as forgiving as he, once they learn who you truly are deep inside?"_

Caleb froze, eyes wide, before shaking his head furiously. "Don't play those games with **me**, Demon King." he hissed, "I'm **not** the same! I am who I've always been; Lloyd said so, and I trust him more than you!"

_"Care to make a wager on the trust they have in you?"_

"No. I have faith in Raven, and he has faith in me. We'll defeat your tricks and traps and burn this Book to nothing. With it gone, you'll never escape Niflheim."

_"That was **not** a request."_

"Hey, hunny; miss me?" Caleb heard a familiar voice remark brightly before a flash of light went off and he screamed, arms raising to protect his eyes.

* * *

Danny lifted his head at the sight of a figure walking towards the camp. The rings passed over him quickly, shifting him back into his Phantom self as he jumped up and floated in the air, the blanket still draped around his shoulders. It was another minute before he could clearly see Caleb headed back, hands in his pockets as he smiled cheerfully at the halfa.

"You stayed up for me? How sweet!" the android laughed, startling Danny with a sudden hug.

"Okaaay." the halfa muttered in confusion, watching him walk away to take up his usual night watch. That was new. Maybe Caleb was in a good mood over having friends again?

"Go ahead and rest. I'll keep watch." the android told him, setting the Wonder Fork down at his side. Danny nodded and headed for bed, curling up under the blankets for sleep.

Time passed and one of the sleeping forms stirred, then sat up. Valerie rubbed at her eyes, yawned, then looked around herself to be sure everyone was in their right place and sleeping. Where was the android? Ah, there. Caleb sat by Danny Phantom's bed, watching her with an impassive expression, one leg pulled up in some odd yoga-like position. One hand cradled a cheek as he watched her, the other absently petting the white hair peeking out from under the blankets.

"Do as you like. I'll say nothing." Caleb told her quietly, "This is your level, after all." Valerie frowned at him, but repacked her things quickly and stood, hands gripping the straps of her backpack on her shoulders.

"I'm going to see this town for myself. Maybe I can pick up some ideas to present to Mayor Masters that will help rid the city of ghosts." she defended herself, temper flaring suddenly. Caleb only shrugged.

"I don't care what you do. The one I'm interested in is here with me." he returned, "Go, but be wary of the symbol that will surely appear."

Valerie gave him a strange look, then hurried off, running up the trail towards Damon-Gray.

* * *

She wandered the streets, looking up at the houses and shops as she passed through. At first she wasn't sure where to go. Everything was closed up tight and no one manned the stores. Eventually, Valerie found herself walking towards the largest building in the town, a mansion with the windows lit. It looked like the Masters estate where the mayor lived; maybe the leader of this town lived here?

She jogged up the street to the gate and paused to look at the iron-wrought letter 'G' decorating it. A little thrill ran down her spine. If the town was named after her father, then could it be that he was its founder and mayor and she was back on the top of the social ladder? Think of all the good she could do with that kind of influence! She could give speeches on the real threat of ghosts, give self-defense classes to help people protect themselves against ghost attacks...

"This really is a dream come true!" Valerie exclaimed, hands clasped together and eyes shining with joy, "If I learn from Dad about what he did to create this town, I can share that knowledge with Mayor Masters and we can make Amity Park safe, just like this!"

She pushed open the gate and ran up the driveway to the door of the mansion, the yards full of topiaries and flowers and statues, the epitome of mayoral splendor. Excited, Valerie grabbed the brass ring hanging from the talons of a hawk decorating the massive wooden door and knocked rapidly before remembering that it was the middle of the night and wouldn't everyone be asleep?

The door opened and a butler appeared in the space, peering down at her in distaste.

"Yes? Shouldn't you be indoors? It is past town curfew and it is illegal for any non-official to be out past curfew." he lectured. Valerie gave a nervous little laugh, rubbing her head.

"I'm sorry, but I really wanted to meet the one in charge of Damon-Gray." she told the butler. The man lifted an eyebrow, considering her for a moment, then stepped back to invite her in. Valerie hurried inside, smiling widely at the luxurious furnishings inside. The butler cleared his throat to catch her attention, then began to lead the way up the stairs, the girl scampering up the steps after him.

As they rose to the next floor, she noticed the paintings of her father and herself decorating the walls, the images of the two of them growing progressively older hanging by various ghost hunting equipment and weapons. All the paintings that featured her exclusively had her dressed in elegant clothes, jewelry, and a stern expression, radiating an aura of strength and power. Valerie's eyes couldn't get any wider, awed by all the things around her.

She also noticed a strange symbol embedded into a pin that the Valerie in the paintings wore on her clothes, a symbol that looked a lot like the ones Caleb translated for the Trials in the previous levels. She worried at her lower lip for a moment before shaking her head and choosing to ignore it. Maybe it was nothing; not every symbol had to be a sign of a sin.

The butler led her to a door at the end of a hall, where he knocked and waited for an answer. A woman's voice called in acknowledgment, and the butler opened the door to look inside.

"A girl has come to meet with you, Dame Gray. She appears to be one of the travelers that passed through earlier in the day." he announced.

"Did she come with any of those non-humans?" the woman returned, and Valerie jumped slightly. That was _her_ voice! Her voice, but much older!

"No, Dame Gray, it is only she."

"Let her in."

And Valerie found herself inside a large office, facing an older version of herself seated at a massive oak desk, dressed in a dark red dress-suit with that pin on her lapel. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun, and the elder woman looked almost imperial, gazing stoically back at the young huntress.

"Well. Now I see why you wanted to meet with me." Dame Valerie Gray murmured, leaning forward to steeple her fingertips together, "Good evening, Valerie. Welcome to Damon-Gray, my town and a haven for pure humans."


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: It had been my idea to originally have another ruined Amity Park be the stage for Valerie's Trial, but my husband thought it would be more of a slap to the face to have it been in a peaceful mountain town. We hashed out her level for a few weeks, talking over where it would be, what her Trial would look like, what the Pre-Trial would be like, the memento to be left, what her Sin was and how to reveal it, all kinds of things. So her entire Trial time is a collaboration effort. Also, I must give a warning; this level **will be very disturbing** so it should be rated higher than T, depending on how well it's handled. The bad stuff doesn't happen until next chapter, but there are foreboding bits in this one. You have been warned.

In the meantime, please enjoy the chapter. I'll try to keep writing when I'm not tired out from work. XD I recently got a new job, but I work graveyard shifts.

* * *

24

Team Phantom was confused when morning came. They fell asleep as five teens, and woke up as four. Where was Valerie? They hurried to pack and called her name, searching the immediate area for her.

"Caleb! You were night watch; what happened to her?" Sam demanded of the android. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I swore I wouldn't tell." he replied, then glanced towards the town meaningfully before turning to pick up the Wonder Fork and strap it back on. The Goth nodded and spun to face the sky, calling up to the halfa circling overhead in an aerial search.

"Danny! She's in the town!" she shouted and waited for him to shoot down to her side, "What are we going to do? They're not gonna be too happy with either you or Caleb going in with us." Danny sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, I know." he muttered. He was about to speak again when Caleb tilted his head in thought, then brightened, snapping his fingers.

"Why not have Sam, Tucker and Jazz go in to find her since they're pure humans, and the two of us can stay out here and wait for them?" he suggested brightly, "This way, they won't get arrested and we can start planning what to do about Valerie's Trial." Sam raised an eyebrow at him incredulously.

"Oh? And how the hell are we supposed to translate the symbol that comes up if you're not there?" she remarked sardonically. Caleb muttered a 'Good point' under his breath as Danny shook his head in exasperation.

"Sam's right; whatever we do, we need to at least sneak **you** into town to translate the symbol. Otherwise, we won't be able to help Valerie face her sin and beat the Trial." he told the redhead and turned to watch his sister and technophile friend join their huddle, "Okay, guys. Val's in the town and we need a way to get in without getting arrested for being anything other than purely human. Any ideas?"

They considered the problem, feet tapping as their brains ran through various solutions that could be used. Caleb folded his arms over his chest, tilting his head one way, then the other in a slow pace, thinking it over as well.

"What if you just transform and wear a cloak?" Jazz asked her brother, "That way you can be human and you can hide yourself from Valerie."

"The scanners those officers were using, they somehow detect if a person is human or not." Tucker pointed out, "If we can't figure out how those work, we won't be able to trick them."

"Ectoplasm?" Danny questioned, "If they search for that..."

"Nah. They used one on Caleb and found out he wasn't human that way." Sam pointed out, "They're looking for something a human would have that non-humans don't have."

"A heartbeat!" Caleb exclaimed, snapping his fingers, "I don't have one because I don't have a heart, and Danny's ghostly heartbeat is too faint to be picked up."

"So turning back into a human might be best for Danny after all." Jazz remarked smugly. She turned to her brother and he sighed, transforming on the spot with a roll of his eyes. Sam unpacked a black hooded cloak and tossed around his shoulders, clasping the front securely and pulling the hood up and low over his face.

"That should do it. For now at least." she sighed, "Now, what to do about Caleb?" The android waved a hand dismissively.

"I'll be fine. Trust me. I'll change outfits, pull a quick trick, and no one will be the wiser." he told the teens with a confident grin. Danny nodded.

"All right. Yeah, that could work, especially if you're using the Eternal Sword Pin." he agreed and headed up the trail with the group falling into a protective guard around him again, "You guys, you don't really have to do that!" He turned back to watch Caleb shift his green outfit over to a deep blue three-piece suit and tie, whipping out a pair of sunglasses to slip on over his eyes. "What kind of outfit is that?"

"It's what I wear when I'm posing as Hounder. Don't I look suave in this?" the android returned with a grin, "It really helps pull off that whole 'old money' feel without being completely covered in jewels."

"Money isn't everything." Sam growled, shooting a glare his way, "Didn't think you were the type to flaunt your riches."

"I'm full of surprises, not all of them pleasant." Caleb replied, smirking as he straightened the dark lenses. She stared at him, then shook her head and faced forward again.

"Amity Park attracts way too many weirdos." she muttered under her breath.

* * *

The town of Damon-Gray looked the same as before, only with four lit street-lamps and no one screaming foul at them, as though everyone forgot what happened the day before. Danny spotted the colored flames, blinking in surprise; he hadn't caught fire when those were lit. Maybe because he'd been right about the fire backing up into him when he was in ghost form? He spent most of his watch as Danny Fenton, waiting for Caleb to come back, and if he lit those while he was here, then the fire went straight to the box.

Again the officers stopped them, demanding to know why they were in town while they whipped out the scanners and pressed them to their bodies. Danny cringed, half expecting things to go horribly wrong as the device touched to his chest.

"These kids are human." the officers testing Sam, Jazz and Tucker reported.

"This one too." the one standing by Danny added, oblivious to the halfa's immensely relieved expression, the tension flooding out of his shoulders and letting him droop. That tension came back as he remembered Caleb was last to be tested, and he twisted around to watch with wide eyes as the device pressed against the android.

But after a moment, the officer nodded with a smile.

"Human." he reported brightly, holding up the device as Caleb let a smirk appear on his face.

"Could someone as perfect as I be anything but?" he asked of the man, who only laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Welcome to Damon-Gray, the haven for humans. We hope your stay here is pleasant. Feel free to turn to the Anti-Ghost Militia for any questions you may have." the lead officer told them and walked away with his squad to continue their patrols.

"Does Hounder have to come off sounding like a snob?" Jazz asked the android dryly, arms akimbo as Caleb scratched at one cheek, looking a little put off.

"Harsh." he mumbled, "At least we're all good to go. We should find Valerie so she can activate her Trial and face her sin."

They set to wandering the town, asking everyone they met if they'd seen Valerie, or anyone matching her description. No one knew anything, pointing out that if she had come to town after curfew, then there wouldn't be any witnesses except for the patrol units. So the teens flagged down an officer, asking them about Valerie.

"Only thing that happened last night was some delinquent that ran around, lighting some of the street-lamps. We lost them near the old kitchen supply store." the officer told them and gestured towards the mansion at the north end of town, "If you like, you can try talking to our Dame Gray for help. She runs Damon-Gray and leads the militia. She's the most powerful ghost hunter the world's ever seen." He sounded proud, but his eyes darted around fearfully.

"Dame Gray is a ghost hunter?" Sam questioned incredulously, "So, it's really _Valerie_ that runs this town?"

"Show respect! She is our Dame Gray!" the officer barked.

"Um, what about Danny Phantom? He's a ghost hunter too." Jazz pointed out, putting a hand on Sam's shoulder to calm her down. The officer shook his head.

"Danny Phantom was a ghost, and an obvious enemy of humanity and our Dame Gray. He was executed shortly after she obtained her title and captured him." he explained, ignoring the startled expressions on the group's faces, "Since then, this town has been an example for others in how to govern to prevent incidents with non-humans."

The group left the officer, feeling numb and hollow as they trekked up the path towards the mansion.

"This just isn't cool." Danny muttered thickly, drawing the cloak tighter around himself, "She _executed_ me? For **what**? I didn't **do** anything!" He looked over at his friends still gathering around him as a shield. Tucker had the lens in his hand, rubbing his thumb over it worryingly as he studied his PDA screen. Sam gazed downward, lost in thought, and Jazz tried to look calm, but he could tell from the twitch at the corner of her eyes that she was furious. Caleb looked unmoved, face once again a perfect little blank mask.

He frowned. Odd... he wasn't feeling much of anything from the android. And he couldn't even pick up that walled-off feeling as usual. So Caleb wasn't hiding behind his shields, but he also wasn't touching off on Danny's mental reader for 'friend/foe', or whatever it was he did to judge people in relation to himself. Nebilim's words returned to his mind, and Danny watched the android from askance, feeling the faintest stirrings of suspicion rising despite not wanting to feel it.

* * *

_"Doubt, suspicion, distrust; the seeds that will eventually grow to become hate, rage, and discrimination."_

* * *

They reached the mansion and pushed open the gate, entering the property warily. No one seemed to care that they could just walk in like that, no guard dogs came running after them, no officers to yell at them. Danny lingered by the gate when the group headed forward, and they turned to give him puzzled looks.

"Something wrong, Danny?" Sam asked, worried about his actions.

"I don't like the idea of going there as Danny Fenton." the halfa returned, pulling the cloak tighter around himself, peering out from within the depths of his hood, "I'm goin' ghost; don't want to risk Valerie seeing me." And he called up the ring to transform, ignoring the protests his friends gave him over that idea. Sam just gave him a strange look, a faint blush growing on her cheeks that puzzled him. What caused **that** reaction?

He reached up and tugged at the hood, pulling it a little lower as he considered it briefly. Maybe it had something to do with the cloak she made him wear?

"If the two lovebirds are done undressing each other with their minds," Caleb suddenly remarked dryly, "I'd like to get on with this journey. We still have to gather enough Soulfire to light the Altar." Tucker began laughing, shaking his head as he slid the lens back into his pocket.

"That's a good one!" he exclaimed, heading off as Sam and Danny shot both him and the android furious glares, faces burning red.

_"We're not like that!"_ they shouted in unison and went stomping up the path after him, fuming as they were followed by Caleb and Jazz.

Eventually, they found themselves standing before the huge mansion of Dame Gray. Tucker whistled as they gazed up at the building.

"Man. _That's_ high-class." he murmured, "I don't think even Vlad has a mansion **that** big!"

"Hey! What are you guys doing here?" Valerie's voice called out in surprise. The teens turned their attentions to the door as the huntress ran out to meet them, hurrying down the elegant curving steps. She stopped before them, hands on her hips as she gave them all a disapproving glare. "How did you get past the militia with **those** two tagging along?" she demanded, jerking her head towards Caleb and Danny.

"Never mind how we did that. I wanna know how you got your hands on that outfit!" Sam exclaimed hotly, "I thought you couldn't afford a dress-suit like that!" Valerie blinked at her, then gazed down at the red outfit she was wearing, a small brooch pinned to the jacket.

"Oh, this? Dame Gray gave this to me; said I could be an assistant and learn how she runs the town so I can take those teachings back to Mayor Masters." she explained proudly, "We'll turn Amity Park into a paradise like this place!"

"This isn't paradise!" the Goth yelled back, waving her arms around, "They've got town curfews, the people are living in fear and they even executed Danny Phantom for no reason! Who'd live in a hell-hole like this?"

"The ends justify the means! Once the people understand that all this is for their safety and well-being, they'll be thanking us!"

"You'll be destroying people's freedoms and rights! That doesn't justify anything, _especially_ killing off Danny Phantom when he didn't do anything!"

"He's a **ghost**! That's enough!"

"This is going to go on for hours." Tucker sighed before turning to Caleb, "Is there anything around here that could be the trigger for the Trial?" The android looked slightly puzzled.

"I don't see anything right away. It could be inside the mansion." he replied, "We'd have to get in there and take a look around." Danny gave him that odd look before turning back to break up the argument, stepping between the two girls and holding up his hands.

"Hey, hey! Calm down, you two!" he declared, "Come on! We have to find the Trial symbol! Deal with this crazy town later!" Valerie scowled, tapping her foot in irritation.

"There isn't any!" she snapped, "I've already looked! Dame Gray has invited me to stay for a couple of days to learn everything I need to learn, so the bunch of you should get out of here before you get me in trouble!" She pointed back towards the gate. "Get out of here! Before the guards show up and catch you with non-humans!" the huntress added and then turned and ran back to the mansion.

"Well, **that** went according to plan." Jazz grumbled, hands on her hips as she scowled up at the mansion, "How is she to face her Trial when she's in denial like that?"

Danny sighed and turned away from the mansion, pulling the cloak around himself as he returned to his normal self, sneakers padding silently over the cobblestone path to the gate. The others noticed him leaving and hurried to follow him, worried expressions on their faces.

"Let's try and get a room at a hotel or something and figure out what to do there. It's almost lunch time, anyway." the half-ghost remarked, "If there's a Trial symbol inside the mansion, we'll need to find a way to get in and check it out."

"It's a better plan than anything else right now." Caleb agreed with a nod. Danny narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Hey, Caleb; did Nebilim talk to you last night?" he asked casually. The android blinked at him in surprise.

"Why ask that? Did he talk to you?" he returned in confusion. Danny shook his head and Caleb smiled in relief, "That's good. If he tries anything on you, let me know and I'll use my resources to keep you safe. We can't let him turn you into his vessel, after all."

"Yeah. Thanks, Caleb." the halfa murmured, turning to grin at him before facing forward again, frowning deeply.

He still couldn't feel it, that sense of genuine concern that flickered around the android at odd times in regards to him. Was something wrong with Caleb again? But he was fully repaired, wasn't he? He glanced back at Tucker; he'd have to find a way to talk to his friend alone, or get a look at his PDA.

* * *

It was oddly easy to get rid of Caleb for a while. Once they checked in at a small hotel -Danny thought it was weird that the innkeeper accepted the coins Caleb used for money and not actual dollar bills- everyone set their things down and turned to the subject of lunch.

"I want applesauce." Danny declared with a tone on the verge of throwing an undignified tantrum. He'd pulled his hood back, but kept the cloak on just in case. Caleb blinked and peered into his packs, checking their newly bought food supplies.

"I don't have apples." he returned, "How about a cake instead?"

"We're friends, right? Then can't you try to get a few so we can have applesauce?" the halfa whined and Caleb gave him a strange look before smirking.

"So that's how friends are? All right. I'll go get apples." he replied and headed out the door, "Be back whenever! Stay here so those officers don't catch onto our little tricks!"

* * *

_"Those who are different are to be used, abused; this is the way of humans, of their hatred for those who are not like them. This is done under the guise of more innocent and righteous terms. Does it not make you want to destroy them all again?"_

* * *

"Okay, he's gone." Jazz reported, watching from the hotel window before turning back to her brother, "Danny, what's going on? You don't even like applesauce!" Sam leaned back in her chair, wiggling her fingers as the bored look returned to her face.

"Knowing Danny, he's probably got some new beef with Caleb and wants to vent with us before he gets back." she put in and gave the boy a dry grin, "So what is it this time? Didn't like how he had us skip breakfast?" Danny shook his head, turning his attention to Tucker instead.

"Tuck, how much damage does Caleb have right now?" he asked and the techno-geek blinked in confusion from his seat on one of the beds, hands fiddling with a game on his PDA.

"Huh? He should still have only one percent from the Dark mana. Nothing had a chance to hit him yesterday and he looked fine this morning, no weird signs of damage." he returned and Danny gave him a stern look. Tucker rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh, turning off his game and switching over to the new application in the device. "It's syncing, give it a second... there." he remarked and frowned, "That's weird. It's reporting twelve percent now... no, wait. It just went up a point, thirteen percent."

Jazz folded her arms over her chest, puzzled expression on her face. "Well, that's not too bad. Thirteen percent might have been from hitting something last night; those lit street-lamps, those were Caleb's fault, right? That's only a little bit of damage, like a bruised arm to us or something. He might have gotten it while running away from the militia." she pointed out. She gave a little huff at her brother's suspicious expression. "Danny, he's fine! Once he's back with the apples, he'll probably do some repairs and we can eat." she argued, "Stop making mountains out of molehills; you'll give yourself a paranoia complex!"

"All right, all right. Maybe you're right." Danny sighed, rubbing his head. _'But something just doesn't **feel** right! Am I overreacting or what? Something about this town jives wrong, and maybe it's affecting Caleb.'_

"This stupid town gives **me** a paranoia complex." Sam growled, tipping her chair onto its back legs to prop her feet up on top of a vanity nearby, "Did you notice how everyone's scared of Dame Gray even while they're singing her praises? Or how there's hardly any modern conveniences up here? I'm all for living the natural life, but these people are living like... like...!" She twirled a hand, trying to somehow pull her feelings out into the best words for the job.

"Like they're in the Dark Ages?" Tucker muttered darkly, tapping his stylus against the screen of his PDA, "It's like what I said would happen if Caleb took back all things magic-related; notice how they don't even have telephones or radios? The only pieces of technology around are those scanners the officers had, and they're in the militia."

"And Dame Gray controls the militia." Sam supplied with a deep frown, swinging her legs off the vanity and planting her chair back on the floor properly, "She's controlling this town with fear and restricting technology; I bet she doesn't even let people leave this town!"

"Then what does she do with travelers that visit?" Jazz questioned softly, watching the window for signs of Caleb, "And what's going on in the outside world that has her feel the need to cut off communications?" She dropped the curtain suddenly. "He's coming back."

"Damage percent went up another point." Tucker reported, "Fourteen percent." The carrot-top turned to give him a sharp look.

"How did his damage go up? He was just _walking_ here!" she blurted out, then covered her mouth as all eyes went to the door.

After another few minutes, it opened and the android stepped in, a basket of apples hanging from one arm and a cheerful look on his face.

"Ready for lunch?" he asked, laughing as he tossed one of the apples into the air and caught it easily in the same hand.

* * *

"The ends justify the means." Dame Gray murmured, stately walking around a large table in her tactical office. Valerie followed in her wake, pad and paper in her hands as she gazed at the walls of books, papers, rolled up maps and charts. A large flat-screen monitor hung on one wall, connected to a laptop that rested on a podium just a few feet before it. "Force is to be used swiftly and surely, without hesitation. It is the only method the non-humans understand." the elder woman went on in a firm tone, stopping by the podium to watch the girl take notes, "Deception is their favored weapon; they hide themselves as people you care about, people you love, even putting on the most innocent of faces. You must steel yourself against that deception and strike first, without warning, so the rest of their kind knows that their weapon doesn't work against you."

"Strike first, without warning..." Valerie repeated to herself as she scribbled furiously, "I thought the same thing, too." She paused, considering something. "But what about if they give a temporary truce? So the two of you can accomplish a greater goal? Then after the truce ends, the strike thing still works, right?" the huntress asked and flinched slightly at the sudden rush of anger radiating from Dame Gray. The woman's face looked almost livid.

"**No!** Truces are part of their deception! Anything less than outright destruction of a non-human creature is _intolerable_!" she spat out, "Every word that comes out of their mouths is a **lie**, so don't even give them the _chance_ to speak! Just point your gun and **fire**!" Valerie stared at the woman, before swallowing and nodding.

"Geez, someone needs to switch to decaf." she muttered as she went back to writing.

"That will be enough for today. Lunch will be served in the dining room." Dame Gray told her, suddenly calm and collected again. She gestured with unnatural grace towards the door, "Go and enjoy yourself. I have some work to attend to in regards to the protection of my town." Valerie nodded, hurrying off with a quick 'Thanks' drifting behind her. Once she was gone, the woman turned to bring her laptop out of sleep mode, gazing at a map of the world. Much of the landmasses were colored a sickly gray, with pockets of dull green scattered throughout.

"Those vermin still cling to life, scratching out an existence and festering on this world." she murmured, "It won't be long now; just a few last modifications and the Cleansing Wave will be complete. Then I can enact the re-population of this world with the purest blood of humanity and no one need fear the threat of non-humans ever again."

* * *

When the evening came, Danny headed back to the Gray Mansion on his own, slipping away in the general chaos that came from making dinner as Sam and Tucker set to arguing over what would be the main dish, something full of meat or something full of vegetables. Even Caleb had been distracted, trying to soothe one or the other in alternating sequence and just riling everyone up more. But the chaos was good; it let him snatch up Tucker's PDA and sneak out to try talking to Valerie again, or at least get into the mansion and find that symbol.

He knocked on the door and stepped back, pulling the cloak and hood tighter around himself to hide the glowing white aura of his ghostly form. The PDA hung heavy in his pocket, but it didn't reassure him. He'd checked it on the way up; Caleb's damage hovered at eighteen percent now, and there was nothing physically wrong with him that he could see. Nothing had acted out of tune, no weird breathing, jerky movements, or broken speech.

What _really_ bothered him was the rate of damage; it seemed to go up only one point every hour. So that would mean... he started getting damaged eighteen hours ago? No, that wasn't right; Caleb started with one percent, he even said he would always have one percent at full strength. In that case, the damage started at seventeen hours ago. What was he doing at that time?

The door opened, interrupting his thoughts, and Danny blinked up at the butler looking down his nose at the boy.

"Yeees~?" the man stretched the word with displeasure.

"I'm here to see Valerie, Dame Gray's assistant." Danny told him, hoping his echoing voice didn't give him away too easily as a ghost, "I'm one of the companions traveling with her." The butler peered at him and Danny wished he could shrink further into his hood and cloak. But apparently, the man had his fill of him and stepped back to let him in.

"You may enter. Remain in the den while I alert Lady Valerie of your arrival." he remarked dryly and walked away once Danny drifted into the den. The halfa took a seat on the sofa there, looking around himself.

The first thing that drew his attention was the fireplace, bright orange flames crackling and warming the room. On its mantle rested a pair of eyeglasses, black rimmed and with a lens cracked. They looked familiar; Danny tilted his head curiously. Who wore those?

Above the fireplace was a massive portrait of Dame Gray in a military-like uniform of deep red coloring, the glasses on the mantle hanging around her neck on a chain. She looked cold, stern, like a president or a queen would if they also ran an army directly as a hobby. There was a strange symbol painted on a corner as a signature, and Danny noted how much it looked like the Trial symbols. Checking around himself quickly, he flew up and pulled out the PDA, holding it up to snap a photo of the painting. Caleb would be able to translate the character once he got it back to the inn.

The rest of the den had tall shelves full of books and trophies, which made Danny wonder if it was possible that there could be some secret rooms or tunnels using the books as triggers. It would be very Vlad-like of the place.

He drifted down and set himself back onto the sofa, sighing as he continued waiting. It wasn't much longer before Valerie appeared in the den, puzzled look on her face that quickly became a scowl once she realized who it was that came to visit her.

"_You?_ Of everyone that was crazy enough to come into this Book with me, **you** had to be the one to come here!" she fumed, whipping out an ecto-gun and pointing it at him. Danny sighed, shaking his head. How many times were they going to go through this too?

"Valerie, I'm getting just a _little_ bit tired of you pointing weapons at me when one, I haven't **done** anything and two, Caleb fixed them so _they don't **touch** me_!" he growled irritably, eyes glowing vivid green from within the black hood, "I came to see how you were doing and if you would be coming back to the inn with the rest of us." He turned to look up at the painting while Valerie clicked her tongue in annoyance, sliding the gun back into its holster. "I was studying that painting while I was here." Danny added, his tone flat, "That symbol there; it's the same as the others we've seen. Valerie... that's the symbol of your Trial."

"Not **everything** has to be a Trial!" Valerie blurted out hotly. She tightened her hands into fists, eyes narrowing in a burst of fury. "The last level wasn't a Trial, and this one isn't, either! You're just trying to make it seem like one because you think you're so high and mighty compared to us decent human beings!" The halfa turned to stare at her, startled by her words. "So what if Sam and Jazz and Tucker had to face sins? I bet it was because they befriended a **ghost**! Ghosts are the _enemy_! _All_ non-humans are the _enemy_!" she went on yelling, "The _true_ humans, **true** ghost hunters, are without sins, so this level is mine and here to show me what to do once I get home!"

There was quiet for a short bit of time, and Valerie breathed hard after shouting at the phantom. Danny stood there, eyes wide.

"What's gotten into you?" he finally whispered, "I've never heard you talk like that before." He moved forward. "Something's wrong with you. I'm taking you back to the inn; maybe Caleb can..." The half-ghost reached out to take her arm and she slapped it away, scowling.

"I'm fine! How obvious; a ghost and a robot banding together, taking each other's sides." she hissed, ignoring the startled and faintly hurt expression on Danny's face, "Probably setting all this up to try making yourselves look like heroes so you can undermine the rest of us..."

"We're not...!"

_"Out!" _Valerie demanded, pointing towards the door almost imperially, "Before I call the militia on you! I'll bet they'll love to hear how you snuck into town the first time!"

"All right, all right!" Danny declared angrily, "I'm going!" He stormed past her, cloak drawn tightly around him. He paused on the way and looked back at her determinedly. "But I'm coming back tomorrow. One way or another, we're getting you out of here and showing you what's going on." he added in a low growl, "Because this level is doing something to you, and it must have something to do with your sin." And he continued on, phasing through the door and vanishing into the night.

Valerie watched him leave, maintaining her fierce expression until she was certain he was gone before letting it drop and pressing a hand to her forehead. She wilted in place with a soft groan of exhaustion. What **had** gotten into her? She'd been surprised to hear someone came to visit her, had come thinking that maybe Tucker or Jazz dropped by to give her some encouragement, but it turned out to be the Ghost Kid instead. Seeing him was disappointing, confusing even, but something just seemed to flip in her, and all she felt was this awful hot burning in her chest. Yelling at him, threatening him, it seemed to make the burning feel a little better, but if she paused, even to catch her breath, to grab her thoughts, it surged back.

Once he was gone, the feeling was gone too, and she just felt drained. What was happening? Was there _really_ something wrong?

"No... no, I'm okay." she told herself breathlessly, flopping onto the sofa and absently fixing the brooch on her jacket before fanning herself with one hand, "I just got a little carried away. A good night's sleep will -yawn- take... care of... everything..." She blinked sleepily and turned to make herself more comfortable, resting against the plush sofa and drifting off to sleep.

Gazing down at her from the second floor of the mansion, Dame Gray tapped her fingernails carefully on the banister, the firelight reflecting bright red in her eyes.


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: **Warning! This chapter contains fairly graphic descriptions that may disturb. Be advised that it rates T-M, at least in my head.

* * *

**

25

"Oh, that stupid android is _pissing me __**off**_!"

Jazz flinched at the vicious punch Sam landed on the bedpost, nearly splintering it from the force. For a moment she wondered if she should worry about the condition of the Goth's hand, then decided it must be fine if her stomping around was any indication. The android in question was out for the morning, searching for a restaurant with Tucker in tow as the boy wanted meat for breakfast to make up for the meager fruit sandwiches of the previous night. Danny had also gone out, claiming he needed some 'alone time' to think something over. With Valerie still at the mansion, that left only Jazz and Sam at the inn to eat from the supply of fruits and vegetables.

And Sam was not happy.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it." Jazz tried to soothe the girl, trying to rationalize the conversation that had taken place only minutes ago, "Maybe he was teasing, like Tucker does. That would explain that smile."

"Nobody smiles like **that** without knowing damn well what they're saying!"

Jazz hung her head with a sigh of dismay. A breakthrough in thinking would not be so easy to have with someone like Sam as the 'client'. However, in many ways, Sam was also right. That entire conversation had been really weird, for lack of a better term.

* * *

_"What does everyone want for breakfast?" Caleb asked the teens once they were all awake and freshly showered and dressed for the day._

_"Do we still have any of those fruit sandwiches left?" Sam returned, sliding the curtains closed to keep out the morning light, "Those were good."_

_"No way. We had rabbit food for dinner; it's meat's turn to take center stage!" Tucker protested, conveniently forgetting how he'd managed to get a ham sandwich in place of the fruit, "Caleb, waffles and sausage would be awesome; heavy on the porkers, if you get me."_

_"Waffles sound good. How about you, Danny?" Jazz asked of her younger brother as he made his way to the door, "Where are you going?" The dark-haired teen glanced back at her, hesitating a moment before shrugging._

_"I want some time to think things over. By myself. Some me time, y'know?" he returned casually and waved to the techno-geek, "Hey, Tuck, thanks for letting me borrow your PDA a little longer." Tucker waved it off._

_"No problemo, man." he replied, then jabbed a finger in his direction, leveling a half-meant glare at him, "Just let me know next time you run off with her; I thought I was gonna have a heart attack when I noticed my PDA gone! You know how I am about my sweet, precious tech; that, and I've only got three months of payments left on her." Danny gave him a sheepish grin, then headed out, hood and cloak pulled up and close to shield his face. Caleb watched him leave in silence before turning a smile back on the other teens._

_"Okay! Waffles and sausage it is!" he declared and Sam sighed, rubbing the back of her head._

_"Fine. I'll take the rest of those sandwiches, then." she decided and the android gave her an innocent look._

_"I kind of gave those to the innkeeper for her breakfast." he told her and scratched at one cheek before beaming again, "Why don't you try some of the waffles and sausage? Just a little bite won't hurt!"_

_There had been dead silence for all of five seconds, then..._

_"WHAT?" Jazz could have sworn she saw puffs of smoke shooting out of Sam's ears at that moment. Caleb only continued looking charmingly innocent._

_"Well, no one else outside of this room has to know you ate a little meat. I mean, **really**; a diet of nothing but vegetables and meat substitutes?" he went on thoughtfully, "I suppose it's all fine for you, but you can't expect to get a boyfriend with standards set like **that** for just eating! What if he likes going to a steakhouse? Are you going to ban him from going or dump him?"_

_"WHAT? WHAT?"_

_"And if you somehow manage to -oh, I don't know- marry **Danny**, of all people... well, he's a growing guy, and he needs to keep up his strength for fighting ghosts." the android continued, smirking at the Goth's growing rage, "You put him on tofu and stuff, he's gonna get the stuffing beat out of him. He won't be very happy in a marriage like that. I know misery loves company, but don't you think you're taking it a bit too literally?"_

_By then, Sam was completely unable to speak, fingers twitching as though wanting to strangle someone right then and there, preferably the one dressed in green in front of her. Tucker just looked between the two of them, eyes wide with shock._

_"Whoa. Sam? Told off? About meat?" he murmured, "That's a record first!"_

_"And on that note, why don't you two go out and find a place to eat meat at?" Jazz exclaimed, jumping up to push them out the door, the android giving no resistance to her efforts, "Out, out! Do some quality male bonding! The girls need a little chat of their own!"_

* * *

Which brought them to this point, with Sam punching at wood and Jazz trying to make sense of that last half hour or so. Everything Caleb said had seemed to be crafted specifically to strike at Sam's feelings regarding something important her, chipping away until she was thoroughly angry with him, and then taking off when that job was done. Why had he done that? Was there some bigger picture she wasn't seeing? Some lesson he was trying to teach?

Because Caleb certainly couldn't make someone angry for the sole purpose of making them _angry_. That was just ridiculous!

Still... Jazz frowned slightly, rubbing one finger against her chin. Something seemed off about Caleb, and she had felt a strange bit of wrongness when she saw him the previous morning. What was it? What was odd about Caleb that she just couldn't quite place?

"Stupid robot whatever-you-are!" Sam yelled again, arms stiff at her sides and hands clenched into fists, "I hope you get recycled as a French expression of moving art!"

* * *

_"Humans see only themselves as right and others as wrong. They care nothing for understanding differences. When pointed out the errors in their thinking, they become angry and anger becomes hate. See how she hates you simply for speaking on behalf of the side she does not agree with? Does it not make you hate them in return?"_

* * *

"Thirty-two percent now. That's not good. Whatever's going on, he's not repairing and he's still not showing signs of damage." Danny muttered, studying the PDA in his hand.

Standing outside the only kitchen supply store in Damon-Gray, the half-ghost had decided to get a jump on trying to solve the mystery behind what caused the slowly climbing damage meter to start in the first place. Once he had a few more clues to work with there, he'd head back to the inn, have Caleb translate the symbol in the photo, and then they'd all march over to the mansion and get Valerie out of there. Something about this place was just rubbing him wrong on so many levels.

The door had some signs of use, and there were footsteps in the dirt leading into and out of the shop a decent distance from the many steps that ran past it. The officer had said they lost Caleb near this shop, so it might have been that they didn't think he'd know to go inside the store and hide. He checked the area for people, then phased through the door to enter the shop himself.

It was dusty, and it smelled really old, the air stale and dry. Danny coughed a few times, pulling the cloak up to wrap around his nose and mouth for protection. Well, _this_ place definitely saw better days. Kitchen supplies; those spoons and forks were a bit too big for normal use, and where were all the knives anyway?

_"I even asked him, 'Where are the giant knives?' and Wren looked at me like I was stupid for asking!"_ Danny remembered laughing with the android over that part of his story during their walk through Welgaia. _"He says, 'Caleb, they're called swords, and soldiers carry them.' You have no idea how badly I wanted to... to... agh! It still gets to me! Goddess, I was so dumb back then!"_

"You weren't dumb, you just walked into a bunch of dumb traps because you weren't expecting them." the halfa murmured to the air, as though speaking the words would somehow carry them to the android. He shook his head and moved on, drifting through the shop and looking around. Most of the utensils were covered in dust and cobwebs and grime, but a few had clean spots on them. Caleb must have touched them; seeing more of these things must have reminded him of his travel days with the Wonder Chef.

Danny looked down, hoping to spot some footprints and with all the dust everywhere he was pretty much guaranteed to find some. There! Caleb's boots left some fairly smooth prints, no treads or designs at all, and they headed for the counter. Moving to that revealed hand-prints on its top as well; had he leaned forward to look at something against that wall? But the print was twisted, distorted.

"Okay, he put his hand like this... then what?" he muttered, placing a palm down over the print left behind. The fingers smeared to one side, and Danny cautiously turned his hand to follow the smudges. "He turned them, pretty far too..." He blinked, then slapped a hand to his forehead. "Duh! He vaulted the counter!" What for though? He jumped the counter himself, landing on his feet and spotting more prints around him. Well, he'd been right at least.

Right, so Caleb went into the shop to escape the militia, got nostalgic while poking at giant spoons, then came straight over here... for what? Danny scanned the wall of utensils. If he'd been after something, he would have left signs of messing with things, more prints or a space clean of dust if he took something.

Ah! There! That wood spoon had a cleaned neck. Danny reached out and grabbed it right where Caleb had. Okay, so he got it, then what? Did he take it down for a look? The halfa pulled his hand back, expecting the spoon to come off the display board with him. Instead, it rocked forward, like a lever, and the wall nearby creaked and groaned as it slid open. Danny stared over his arm at it, wide-eyed.

"Oh man! A secret passage! What the heck were those cooks **on**?" he complained, "Caleb wasn't kidding when he said they were all like a bunch of ninjas with better food." He released the spoon, waited a moment to see if the door would close, then shrugged and headed over. Footprints led the way in, Caleb must have known about the passage and opened it to peek inside.

Why would there be a tunnel that Caleb remembered in a level that was designed for Valerie's sin? That was the million dollar question there.

"I'd like to phone a friend about now." Danny muttered before blinking, "Hey, wait. I've still got the Fenton Phones!" He dug them out of his pocket as he walked on. "Wait till I tell the guys about this!"

* * *

When Jazz and Sam finally left the inn and headed out to track down the rest of the group, they found Tucker walking back their way on his own, hands jammed in his pockets and flat glare on his face. Sam folded her arms over her chest, eyebrow lifting in a decidedly questioning manner. The carrot-top opened her mouth, about to speak, but Tucker cut her off curtly as he pulled in beside them.

"First chance I get, I'm learning how to dismantle a brain made with magitechnology." he growled. Jazz sighed. Caleb struck again.

"What's **your** story? Got to you about the glories of veggies?" Sam asked dryly. The technophile snorted.

"I wish. Compared to what I got, I'd rather hear the speech about the salad bars." he grumbled, "He gave me some messed up version of dating advice during breakfast. Something about starting from the bottom of the barrel and getting the prettier girls lots of wine before trying anything."

"_Caleb_ said that?" Jazz exclaimed, startled. Tucker nodded, eye twitching behind his glasses. "There has to be a good explanation for this. He wouldn't just say things like that without some justification." she went on, scratching her head in confusion, "Where did he go?"

"Don't know, and at the time I didn't care." Tucker replied, still steaming from the conversation, "But it might be towards the east end of town, closer to the face of the mountain. When he left the restaurant, he kept heading down the street from where we came. The inn's in the west, so..."

_"Hey! Tucker! Jazz, Sam, anyone listening?"_ Danny's voice called out suddenly from Tucker's pocket. All eyes went to him and the only boy in the group fished out the neon green Fenton Phones, clipping them on as a signal for the others to do the same.

"We're here, Danny. What'cha got for us?" Sam replied with a grin, teeth baring in a smile that was ready for action.

_"Don't know for sure, yet. That kitchen supply shop that the militia lost Caleb near? I'm inside it right now."_ Danny went on, the faint sounds of shuffling in the background, _"There was a secret passage hidden inside of it, built right into the mountainside. Caleb went in there."_

"A secret tunnel in a kitchen supply store? Why would there be a secret tunnel?" Jazz questioned, baffled.

_"Wonder Organization. Caleb told me about them. They kept themselves hidden from the two worlds -this was back when Symphonia was still split- to protect the Wonder Chef."_ Danny explained in a rush, _"Something about an ultimate recipe for life and death or whatever. Anyway, they had a base hidden inside a mountain near a town like this one. Maybe it triggered Caleb's memories and he came through..."_

He fell silent and the teens walked on, waiting for him to continue.

_"...**That's** weird. There's two sets of footprints here, but they both look like the bottoms of Caleb's boots... wait, these ones have treads. Same shape, but it leaves treads..."_

"Maybe he met the Wonder Chef?" Sam remarked, then laughed behind her hand.

_"That would explain his good mood when he came back to camp. ...I thought he said Wren was smaller than he was, though... Well, I'm not seeing much else here; I'm coming back to the inn."_ Danny sighed, _"How's Caleb doing?"_

"When he's **not** ticking off everyone he's with? Just **fine**." Tucker growled, "You better be right about Caleb having damages, 'cause there's just no excuse for the trash talk."

_"What? Caleb wouldn't do that... oh! Hey, Caleb! Got a sec?"_ The Fenton Phones cut out and the remaining members of Team Phantom glanced at one another before breaking into a run for the kitchen supply store.

* * *

Valerie knocked on the heavy wood door, then stepped back to wait. Ever since meeting Danny Phantom the previous night, she'd been feeling really strange. She slept all right at first, then she had odd dreams of flying over barren lands, of little kids sleeping inside glass capsules, and of something gleaming brightly high over the world. During breakfast, she picked at her food, worried over what was happening and debating going back to the others and talking about it.

That would mean admitting the Spook was right, there **was** something wrong with her, and she couldn't have that! He was a ghost! Ghosts were never right! They lied and they ruined people's lives and they didn't care about anyone but themselves! She could just picture the smug look on his face if she came back and asked for help; it was infuriating, and Valerie jumped slightly when she realized that she'd snapped the fork in her hand in half. She pushed it aside and decided to ask Dame Gray for advice.

The door opened and Valerie peeked in hesitantly.

"Dame Gray? Are you there?" she called out, stepping inside the office. The woman sat at her desk, gazing at a photo that rested nearby. She glanced up at the girl and nodded.

"Yes? Come for your next lesson?" Dame Gray murmured. Valerie rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

"Um, not quite." she began, "I've been feeling... a little odd."

"It's part of your learning. Be at ease; you are just being magnified so you will have the power to do what you must." the elder woman returned and tilted her head, "Anything else?" Valerie fidgeted before taking a deep breath and looking up at the woman.

"Where's Dad? Damon Gray, I mean." she asked, "I thought he was here too; he's the founder right?" Her older self only gazed back at her, cold and distant in expression.

"He was killed. Many years ago." Dame Gray finally spoke, her tone dull and almost bored, "I inherited his title and this township from him when he died."

Valerie stepped back, horrified, one hand flying up to her mouth as her eyes filled with tears. Her father? Dead? But why? How? This _couldn't_ be her future, right? It certainly wasn't her dream anymore, hearing that.

"Much good came from his tragedy, however. I'm using this town to prepare the world for its rebirth." Dame Gray went on smoothly, sitting back and steepling her fingers together, "Then we'll both have what we want. A world only for humans." Valerie blinked, rubbing her eyes free of tears. She couldn't cry now. In the Book, in this level, her dad was gone, but outside, in Amity Park, he was still alive, still counting on her to come home and win this.

"Wh-what do you mean?" she managed to pull herself together enough to ask, "A world just for humans? You mean, without ghosts?"

"Without all those that aren't pure human. Remember, the ends justify the means. The ghosts were only the beginning." Dame Gray explained calmly and gestured towards the girl, "You've already begun seeing other things wrong with the world, things that must be eliminated. It's a good start. Let me share with you the foundation for the work you must carry out for yourself. It will be difficult, but you are strong and will grow progressively stronger." The woman stood and gestured for Valerie to follow her out of the room. They walked side by side down the hall, the girl looking up at the woman in wary confusion and Dame Gray holding her arms back in military fashion, head held high. Portraits lined the walls as they walked towards the steel door of the tactical office.

Dame Gray opened the door and invited Valerie in, moving with signature grace to the podium and touching a key on it to awaken the device and the monitor. That done, she picked up a small remote and gestured up at the screen, now displaying the town of Damon-Gray from a satellite photo.

"Here in my township, I've collected people with excellent genetic samples to produce pure blood human children, and those children who are carrying improved genes are made part of the third phase of the Great Seeds Project." she began with a proud voice, clicking to the next image. A time-chart displayed, marking population numbers and dates. "The villagers are tested on a monthly schedule to ensure they are healthy and any pregnancies are reported to me so that they can be monitored. The infants that are born are taken in for analysis. Those with superior genes are taken into the Great Seeds Project's master catalog." Dame Gray clicked her remote again, and a video feed of children resting within glass capsules came on-screen. Valerie gasped; that was what she had seen in her dream! She glanced over at the elder woman in shock. Was **she** responsible for that? Dame Gray looked upon the children with a strange kind of pride, as though she expected great things of them and if they failed to live up to that, there would be hell to pay.

"Those found to be inferior or possessing signs of mutation are disposed of immediately." she added suddenly, a scathing and disgusted tone creeping into her voice. The feed showed Valerie an example of an 'inferior' human; a small child with signs of lifelong illness -Cerebral Palsy? Downs Syndrome? ADD?- was given an injection, and then watched carefully. Once it went still, the attendant picked it up, walked to a nearby hatch, opened it and slid the child in. The orange glow flickering within was a rather twisted hint as to where the child ended up. "They **do** provide us with the energy necessary for phase two of the Project, however, so I _suppose_ that would be their only saving grace." Dame Gray mused aloud, more to herself than to Valerie, then resumed her 'lecture'. "The townspeople are to be made unaware of all this at all times so as to encourage reproduction, pleasant feelings towards you, and minimizes the threat of revolts." Dame Gray gave a sigh of suffering, but to Valerie's ears it sounded horribly fake.

"It's a sad day, young Valerie, when you need to cull the breeding stock of humanity to ensure that everyone remains on the path to peace. Remind them often that your deeds will help them all in the end." the woman advised, clicking the remote to another image. This time, a weird shape appeared, like one of those Discovery Channel shows that put up pictures of amoebas and bacteria. Valerie still felt her stomach churn at the fate of the child, and this new thing wasn't helping to quell it or her growing horror at what this woman was saying, was **doing**.

"Research on human genetics is put to creating a microbe designed to seek and infect those whose DNA does not sync properly with the markers for a pure human. Mortality rate is _intended_ to be one hundred percent," Dame Gray went on, sounding a little annoyed when the video feed showed a few people struggling in impoverished conditions, the land around them barren and war-torn, many bodies littering the ground -good Lord, was that woman holding a stillborn baby?-, "but if any survive, they are made sterile, to prevent further contamination." Oblivious to the growing horror on the girl's face, Dame Gray clicked for the next image, one of a sparkling object that clarified into the image of a satellite pointing at the world.

"Once the microbe is complete, it will be amassed in an orbiting station and dropped into the jet stream, where the winds will carry it across the globe." she went on and lifted a finger, shaking it to catch Valerie's attention and part of the girl's mind -what little wasn't being utterly revolted by everything- noted how weirdly like a teacher Dame Gray was acting, "This part of the project is called the Cleansing Wave. Please take careful notes, the Cleansing Wave is vital to the Great Seeds Project. Without it, there is a chance for mutations to occur, and mutations are considered non-human and must be destroyed immediately." Valerie only blinked dumbly, mouth still covered by both hands now, and Dame Gray seemed to take that as understanding. She went back to the monitor, clicking again.

"Once the outside world is sterilized of non-humans," picture of what looked like was once a caped man spread over rubble, "and their traitorous comrades," image of Capital Hill in burning ruins, "installations should be built to act as support towns, networked together so as to provide ample movement between them, in the event that re-population efforts made by one township is weak. Move men and women as necessary to continue the rate of re-population."

Valerie stared helplessly at the blueprints for the new towns -did they **have** to look like corrals?- and had the sickening realization that her older self was talking about people like they were animals to be herded around and bred and sorted. Was _this_ really her? Was _this_ what she would become in her pledge to protect Amity Park? Why? **How?**

"Each township is to be headed by one of the Great Seeds children, whom are raised to follow the guidelines I have set and aid in the re-population efforts." Dame Gray went on, clicking back to the glass chambers and doing that 'teacher finger-wag' thing again, "Be sure to provide the Great Seeds men with ample women to do so, and that the Great Seeds women are to focus on raising each of her own children to ten years of age before sending them to the finishing families and beginning conception of the next child. The rest of the plan is automated, so in about a century, the world will be populated with pure blood humans, provided the satellite continues feeding the Cleansing Wave into the jet streams at a rate of about once every six months. This is to ensure mutations are kept out of the gene pool." She fingered the glasses that hung around her neck, watching Valerie's face grow more drawn and pale, her hands covering her mouth as though to hold back a scream, or bile, or both.

"This is the Great Seeds Project in its most simplified form, the result of several years of work and planning to put together, fund, and set into motion. It is sound, logical, and the best way to preserve and protect the people; a plan to be proud of, and one you will have to enact on your own if you truly desire to be rid of the non-humans." she finished and considered the younger huntress, taking in the aghast look on her face. "Perhaps you are not yet ready to do this. Go. Be with your companions for the rest of the day and consider all I have told you." Dame Gray murmured, eyes narrowing slightly, "The devices that scanned them when they entered have registered some of them as possessing excellent genes for cultivation, and one as a deceptive little non-human. That one will be eliminated soon enough. The rest will remain here, as part of the Great Seeds Project. You will then be given the right to leave, so that you can begin the plan in your own hometown." She waved towards the door dismissively.

Valerie couldn't flee fast enough. Screw who was right, her or the Ghost Kid; this entire place was insane and she wanted out **right** **now**!

* * *

_"The woman has an excellent idea; is it not familiar? Does it not make you yearn for that massive effort you spearheaded to restore the one you loved? Look at how they ravage and make war to claim land that is not theirs, the little vermin. See how the hatred spreads. Even your companions are turning against you. One. By. One."_

* * *

"Danny, don't talk to him!" Jazz cried as the teens finally ran up to the halfa and android standing in front of the kitchen supply shop. Danny gave them a strange look before returning to giving the redhead a faintly suspicious frown. "There's something not right here; he's making everyone angry for no reason! Caleb, we want an explanation right now!" she added sternly, she, Sam and Tucker all falling into place by Danny's side. The android raised an eyebrow at her and had the gall to look puzzled.

"I was only discussing the tunnel Danny found with him. That's all." he replied calmly, spreading his hands and shrugging, "You need to learn to relax a little and not be so quick to judge. Who can talk to you when you jump to conclusions over one or two little things?"

"He's doing it again." Sam mock-whispered to Danny, rolling her eyes in annoyance. Caleb sighed.

"That only adds unattractiveness to you, Sam." he pointed out chidingly, "I do hope you're looking forward to a lifetime of searching out a Mr. You're-My-Backup, because you're walking down that path every time you do that."

"See?" the Goth added, ignoring the last remark as Danny lifted the PDA to take a look at the meter.

"Thirty-three percent." he murmured and clicked to the photo gallery, "We'll figure that out in a bit. Caleb, what does this symbol mean?" He held out the device and the android stepped forward to study it.

"It's angelic for 'pride'. This Trial is called The Proud." he remarked, sliding his hands into his pockets as he bent to peer at it more closely, "It looks like it's on a painting. Is this what you were doing last night? Sneaking off to get this snapshot?" Danny nodded, a grim expression on his face.

"Yeah, and to talk to Valerie." He turned to his friends, blue eyes bright with concern and determination, "You guys, something about this level is affecting her. She wigged out on me last night, spouting something about how non-humans were the enemy and the three of you were traitors to humanity." Jazz blinked in surprise, then began to think that over, a look of concentration coming over her as she rubbed her chin lightly.

"The level is affecting _Valerie_? How about how it's affecting _Caleb_?" Sam added incredulously, waving an arm at the disinterested android, "He tried to get me to eat **meat**! And not just any meat, but pork!"

"It's just a suggestion." Caleb pointed out flatly.

"It's not _kosher_!" Sam shrieked back at him angrily. He only clicked his tongue at her. Danny pulled his hand over his face, hoping to have this level done with sometime within the hour so everyone could go back to being sane again. Caleb still wasn't registering on his 'friend/foe' radar whatever-it-was that helped him and his friends, and their talk about the tunnel was really rubbing him wrong.

_"So that tunnel was part of the Wonder Organization's secret base in Sylvarant?"_

_"Yeah. The Wonder Chef only used it once, as far as I recall. He usually just teleported in with the Wonder Fork."_

"That doesn't sound like Valerie." Tucker agreed, opting for the safer subject concerning the huntress, "She hates ghosts; a speech like that sounds like she hates all of us." He looked up at the redhead. "Are you sure her sin is pride?" he asked in confusion. Caleb raised an eyebrow at him, the corner of his mouth twitching as he focused on the boy.

"Are you saying you don't trust my translation? **I'm** the one who existed during the time this language was in use." he retorted, "I say her sin is pride. Do you trust my words?"

The group was silent, looking up at him steadily.

* * *

_"Silence is confirmation. They don't trust you. They never have. See how easily they turn on you over a few comments? Think of how much faster they would have turned if they only knew the truth."_

* * *

"Thirty-five percent." Danny murmured, sneaking a peek at the PDA on the fly. He sighed and shook his head, slipping the device away. "It's all we've got. We'll go with it." When no one moved, eyes locked on him and mouths open, he frowned, shooting them all a steady glare. "Caleb _looks_ fine. Come on, everyone. We have to get Valerie and have her confess her sin at the painting." he urged. Caleb ducked his head in a sort of bow and followed as the halfa turned and headed back into Damon-Gray. The others stared after him in surprise.

"He just took it? Like that?" Sam questioned in soft disbelief, her feet moving to follow as well, "After hearing him talk like that, he just bought it?"

"Danny must know something we don't." Jazz whispered, hurrying to keep up with the halfa and android ahead of them, "Maybe a way to get Caleb to snap out of it and get back to normal? You heard how he said he 'looks fine'. He's implying something that can't be detected by just looking at him."

"He's keeping track of Caleb's damage." Tucker agreed, jogging alongside them as the group moved through town to reach the mansion in the north, "I heard him say it under his breath. It's gone up a whole lot; something's chipping away at Caleb, but it seems to be all software-related, like program corruption. His personality is getting twisted." Sam blinked at him and shot a glare at the redhead.

"So his translation might actually be a lie?" she murmured.

"We don't know. Valerie's got a lot of pride, that's true. But is it really her major sin?" Jazz pointed out, "Let's just go with it for now. Once we get Valerie back and reach the painting, we'll know for sure."

* * *

Valerie found them first, running headlong into them with wide, frantic eyes. Danny gasped and whirled around, hiding behind Caleb as he quickly transformed back into his Phantom self. The huntress was in too much of a panic to notice his movements, words spilling out of her mouth in a rush as she held Jazz's arms, shaking the older girl, and the most sense that could be made of her involved 'get out of town', 'crazy level' and 'burning up inside'.

While they gathered around, trying to calm her and get more of the story out of her, the townspeople began to carefully withdraw into their homes and shops, doors and windows closing and locking up. The militia was making their way down the street, armed and faces schooled into perfectly blank expressions. By the time any of the teens realized what was going on, they were already surrounded, rifles and lances and swords all pointed at them.

"Our Dame Gray wishes to see you all in her ancestral home." the leader of the squad reported to them coldly, "This is **not** a request."

Team Phantom glared back just as icily, Jazz hugging a still panicking Valerie while the huntress pressed her hands against the sides of her head, looking as though she was trying to contain something awful inside her and was losing the struggle.

* * *

The teens were escorted along the path to the Gray Mansion, surrounded by militia officers. Jazz kept Valerie supported, guiding her along and talking in soothing tones as the huntress kept her hands pressed to her head, whimpering in pain. San and Tucker walked on either side of Danny, who kept his eyes on the PDA as he followed behind Caleb, the android walking along as though he were on a simple stroll. Danny noticed something about the image of Caleb on the meter; its expression changed along with the damage count. At first he didn't think much of it, figured it was some stupid-cute thing that the application did for the heck of it. That was back when the damage was low, and the expressions changed to quick flinches before returning to a typical smile. Then the damage went up to the twenty percent mark, and the smile faded to a thinner one, a little strained, but still bearable. As the points added on, the flinches continued, and at thirty percent the strained smile vanished, replaced by a tired look. Danny thought it looked a little on the hopeless side, and the flinching went on, becoming more like little grimaces as the damage added up.

"Caleb, you doing okay up there?" he called out suddenly. Caleb glanced back at him, puzzled look on his face.

"I'm all right. They haven't tried to harm me, if that's what you're worried about." he replied, "The rest of you doing okay?"

"My head is trying to murder me." Valerie growled in irritation, "Do I **look** okay to you?" She waved Jazz off, one hand still pressed to her temple. "Can't you make me something to make it stop?" she demanded of the android. Caleb sighed in annoyance, digging into his pack for a few seconds before headed back to the huntress and putting a few gummy-like beads into her free hand.

"Here. Chew on these gels; they'll help." he told her, "We need to keep going if we're to find out what this Trial is up to." And he went back to the front of the group. Valerie stared at the items in her hand, baffled. Jazz poked at one curiously.

"It's like a gelcap. Headache medicine, maybe?" she murmured. The huntress frowned but popped the handful into her mouth, chewing on the flavored gels and feeling the relief almost immediately.

"Funny; he said he liked using food to heal, not pills." she muttered to herself and gripped her backpack's straps tightly, dreading the trip to the mansion. Jazz gave her an odd look, then turned to watching the redhead at the head of the line. He'd been acting so strangely lately, and Danny seemed to know what was going on. That was probably due to his reaching out to the android in a mutual bond of friendship, which gave Danny a stronger connection to 'feeling out' where the two of them stood. She just needed to find her own way of touching base with Caleb and see what was wrong, and for that Jazz relied on psychology and experience.

And yet, that nagging feeling that there was something _physically_ wrong with the android just wouldn't go away. Like she was aware of it but she couldn't quite _see_ it...

"I can't believe you actually suggested that I eat meat!" Sam yelled at the android at the head of their group. She still wasn't ready to forgive him for that; what had gotten into him? Caleb gave a harsh sigh of irritation, shoulders hunching quickly.

"It was either you learn to eat some type of meat, or you change the way you dress or act. How else do you expect to get a boy to pay attention to you?" he growled, "Excuse me for trying to help."

"I like being **me**!" the Goth snapped back, "What the hell's wrong with the way I am now? This is who I **am**; I'm not changing it just for some _boy_!" Her eyes glanced briefly in Danny's direction, just a split-second, but enough to give her a fragment of doubt and her voice wavered slightly, "He should like me for me...!"

"Good Goddess, and here I thought I escaped the violent demonic banshees." Caleb sighed, shaking his head as though in despair.

_"What did you call me?"_

Danny kept his eyes on the PDA, his frown deepening the more he listened to what was happening around him and watched the damage meter change. Another flinch, another point, and yet the android walked before them without a shred of proof that he was being hurt. Tucker walked by him, peering at the device as well. He still looked a little on the ticked side, but concern crept into his features the more he examined the meter and couldn't match it with the status of their guide. The PDA didn't offer much more information on the android, and checking the application synced to Caleb brought up other little bits of info; something about titles -his current being 'Angel of History' for some weird reason-, his set of available spells -which turned out to be an ungodly long list and even had something marked as Special Arte-, and a readout of his current mode -Normal, though there were tabs for Chosen, Savior and Avenger, and Tucker poked at one to find that the spell sets changed depending on the tab that was active-.

"I don't get it. The only thing that looks off is his damage meter." Tucker muttered, confused and annoyed by that confusion, "It's properly synced, but it's like Caleb isn't registering his own damage. If my tech isn't wrong, then could Caleb be wrong?" He scratched his head, eyes closing in consideration. "But how can an android be wrong for his data?" he mused aloud, folding his arms over his chest, "I'm connecting the PDA to Caleb, it shows Caleb's data, but Caleb himself isn't reflecting the data the PDA is giving us. Either the PDA's messed up, or Caleb is, and if the level's screwing with Caleb, then why isn't the PDA registering _that_?"

"Hey. I can hear you back there." Caleb suddenly remarked and spun around, walking backwards as he leveled a steady grin and glare at the techno-geek, "Did it ever occur to you that your primitive tech just can't handle me? I'm too much android for your little machine to take?" Danny frowned. That... sounded nothing like Caleb.

"How perverted." Jazz commented before the halfa could think further. She walked alongside Valerie, her arms folded over her chest, calculating expression on her face. "I've been watching you, listening to you, and based on my observations of the Caleb that we traveled with, the Caleb that befriended Danny, and the Caleb walking with us now... my conclusion is that, psychologically, you're not Caleb."

The other teens blinked at her, puzzled, then looked over at the android, who only stopped walking to put his hands on his hips and stare back at her with a baffled expression. The guards surrounding them also stopped, watching impassively and making no comments of their own.

"What are you talking about? I've got perfect neutrality; you shouldn't be able to form any kind of opinion about me with a shield like that." Caleb returned and frowned, eyes half-closing in annoyance, "Or maybe you're just saying that because you don't trust me and you want everyone else to distrust me as well." Jazz shook her head, mirroring the android's stance.

"You have been going against your norms for the last two days; you advised Sam to countermand what she believes in to fit normalcy, you brought Tucker's weaknesses to the forefront to lower his self-esteem and you downgraded my strengths as a point against my self-worth." she pointed out scathingly, "You've been trying to undo the lessons we learned about ourselves in the Trials, when before you'd been coaching us subtly to gain understanding about ourselves through them and thus strengthen our wills and sense of self-worth." She jabbed a finger in the android's direction forcefully. "On top of that, your language has become more dirty-minded! You're acting like the ladies' man you appear to be, when before you had no interest in such topics because you are an android and can't reproduce!"

"Hey! I built other androids; I call **that** 'reproducing'!" Caleb shot back in offense, pointing at himself, "And who the hell are you to judge how I talk? I guided you all this way, protected you, fed you, kept you freaking **alive**... and this is how you repay me?" He lifted his hands, spreading them in a shrug as he huffed indignantly. "Figures. This is why I don't 'befriend' humans anymore." he remarked icily, green eyes glittering with an odd fury, "They can't be trusted with anything, not even knowledge. That's why I have to take it all and contain it. I live for one thing only; gathering that knowledge and keeping it away from filthy inferior beings like you!"

"What about your promises to Lloyd and the Wonder Chef?" Danny blurted out, horrified by the android's words. Caleb snapped his gaze towards him in an instant.

"What about them?" he shot back, then gasped, one hand flying up to his mouth, eyes wide with shock as he jerked back. "I...! I didn't mean that!" he stammered as Jazz uttered a little cry of her own, one fist smacking into an open palm.

"That's it! Now I see what's wrong!" she exclaimed and pointed at the android, "Something about Caleb just jived wrong with me, and now I see! Look at his jacket! The Eternal Sword Pin's not there!" All eyes focused on his lapels, and she was right; the glowing violet pin was missing.

"There's nothing wrong with it being out of sight!" Caleb retaliated, still wearing his startled expression even as he spoke behind his hand, "I was just keeping it out of sight for the sake of its protection! You know how important it is to me; I can't let it get stolen by the Trial monster or Nebilim's minions!"

"He's got a point there." Tucker agreed reluctantly, dubious expression on his face as he took the PDA from Danny's numb grip and began tapping at the keys. Jazz shook her head, scowling.

"That's impossible. Back in Welgaia, my hand came near the Pin on his jacket. Some force pushed my hand away and a voice told me that I didn't have the right to touch it." she explained, rubbing her hand in memory of that invisible slap. "The people who made that thing must have put some really powerful protection spell or something on it. Only Caleb can touch it, so it **can't** be stolen!" She jabbed her finger towards him again. "On top of that, there is a deep psychological attachment to that Pin! It was given to him by people he values, people he loved. Why would he hide that?" the carrot-top added defiantly, "Danny said Caleb was given the Pin by Lloyd as a symbol of trust, and he wears it proudly; there's no reason for him to hide it! So why don't you have it out?"

Caleb put his hands over his face, uttering a long groan of exasperation before dropping them in favor of glaring at the group.

"There's just no _reasoning_ with you, is there? You're just bound and determined to distrust me, after everything I've done and gone through for you!" he snapped before straightening and folding his arms over his chest again, closing his eyes in displeasure. "Okay, fine. Suit yourselves. I don't care if you distrust me then." he finally remarked, "As long as Danny's still my friend, I can handle anything you throw at me." One eye opened partway, glittering with something... odd. "As long as he still trusts me, everything will go as I planned."

* * *

_"Do you see? They found all sorts of reasons to distrust you, to despise you. You're still clinging to that little bit of hope? Remember what happened the last time you relied on your comrades for support and aid. They turned on you as well. The boy will be no different..."_

* * *

Sam huffed, shaking her head with a confident smirk on her face. "As if." she returned smugly, "With all the information we've got on you now, thanks to Jazz, there's just no way that Danny would...!"

"Stop saying bad things about Caleb." Danny suddenly interrupted, turning to face the rest of the team, a serious expression on his face. Sam halted in mid-sentence, slack-jawed as she watched the boy move to stand by the android, who smiled like the cat who got in the cream.

"Figures the non-humans would team up." Valerie hissed in sudden fury, hands clenching into fists, "Why can't the both of you just _drop dead_? The world would be better off without your kind! There's no place in this world for you!"

"The manor! Now!" the captain of the guard demanded, and they herded the group towards the massive house once more, at a faster clip this time. Jazz looked dumbfounded, one hand pressed to her forehead as she kept her eyes on her younger brother, the half-ghost walking in step beside Caleb, who now had one arm resting companionably across the boy's shoulders.

"I don't understand. My argument was flawless. Danny's own information was a major part of it! Why is he still sticking by him when it was _Danny_ that first suspected something was wrong with him?" she questioned aloud in a lost tone, "I don't understand it at all! This level is warping Caleb; he **can't** be trusted!"

"I can hear you back there!" Danny replied loudly, arms folded up in defiance even though he wasn't facing them, "Didn't I just say for you to stop saying those things about Caleb?"

"But, Danny!" Tucker exclaimed, holding up the PDA, "According to the data...!"

"Shut up!" the halfa declared, "I trust Caleb; he hasn't betrayed me or any of us, so quit being so suspicious!" He finally looked over his shoulder at the other teens, eyes narrowed. "I trust **Caleb**." Danny repeated firmly, then turned back forward, looking up at the building as the guards forced them all to pass through the ominous doorway and into the mansion, "That won't change. _I promise_."


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: Beta-read version. Previous version has been removed.

* * *

26

They passed through the foyer, gazing around in awe at the spacious home and the myriad of paintings decorating its walls. Stairs swept majestically upwards to the second floor, and a hallway on the first floor was built beneath those stairs, heading off and disappearing beyond sight. Glimpses of still more paintings could be seen down that way. Team Phantom had only a few moments to take in the sights before the guards pushed them towards the den, the same room where Danny confronted Valerie about the largest painting and her changing personality.

"Our Dame Gray will see to you momentarily." the lead guard all but sneered at them and the doors slammed shut, leaving the group alone in the room. They flinched in varying degrees before turning to gaze around themselves a little more, taking in the sight of the many books and the massive painting hanging over the fireplace.

"That's the painting with the Trial symbol." Danny pointed out, stretching his arm towards the huge portrait of the elder Valerie, "I snapped a photo of it when I was here." Valerie huffed, arms folding over her chest as she leveled a glare at the back of his head.

"And **I** told you, it's **not** a Trial!" she growled at him and Sam rolled her eyes in irritation.

"Sure, 'cause a town full of terrified citizens and a tyrannical leader only proves how much of a saint you are." she griped, arms akimbo as her expression turned flat and unimpressed, "Just go touch it already so we can beat the snot out of the Trial and get the Effin'-H outta here!"

The huntress and the Goth set themselves into yet another of their glare competitions while Jazz rubbed at her chin thoughtfully again. That fireplace... something was off about it. Humming to herself while Danny and Tucker took to refereeing the other girls and Caleb flopped onto a couch out of boredom, she moved closer to the centerpiece of the room and examined it carefully.

Fire crackled on several pieces of wood, the logs stacked neatly and of a faintly aromatic wood. The mantle was made of deep red brick, large and impressive. A strange knob caught her attention, however, jutting out just a bit from the wall beside the fireplace. It looked like a gas knob, similar to the one used to connect the gas tank to their stove back at Fenton Works. How very strange.

_'Why would there be a gas knob for a wood-burning fireplace?'_ Jazz thought to herself and reached out to turn it.

"Hey. Don't touch anything until Valerie admits her sin." Caleb suddenly told her sternly, his hand clamping down on her wrist before she knew it. The carrot-top looked up in surprise; he was looming over her and she hadn't even heard him move from the sofa to where she was! Surprise quickly turned back to suspicion. This was just more proof that something was very wrong with the mythology teacher. Caleb was usually the first to inspect anything that seemed out of place or wrong with a level, if only to be better prepared to face it or shield the rest of them from that wrongness.

"I don't trust you, no matter what Danny says." Jazz hissed, yanking her arm free, a surprisingly easy thing to do. The android smiled at her, straightening up to look down at her.

"I know." he purred and headed back to the sofa.

Tucker lifted the PDA at the sound of a little set of chimes, a sound feature he switched on after finding one attached to the odd application. The damage meter took a few more hits, a sudden change from the steady one point-an-hour formula.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Danny, Sam, check this out." he alerted the others, breaking the stalemate and letting Valerie walk off in a huff, "Caleb's damage just jumped five points. Forty-one percent; it should only be about thirty-six or thirty-seven right now."

"Something must have happened, some change." Sam muttered under her breath, "Maybe because we're here, in the mansion?" She stole a glance at the lounging android. "He still doesn't look damaged. Are you sure that thing's synced right?"

"Tech doesn't lie unless someone tells it to lie." Tucker retorted, "The PDA is perfectly fine; it's Caleb that's the problem!" Another series of chimes and the teens looked down at the screen to see the percentage rise another few points, the little image of the redhead still looking very much tired. "Forty-six percent?" Danny gave him a mild punch in the arm out of irritation, glaring at him as Tucker rubbed the injured area and glared back. "What the heck was that for?" he complained.

Valerie ignored the bunch of them, intent on dragging a chair over to the fireplace. Everyone kept insisting that this was a Trial level, that she had some awful sin that needed to be confessed for them to move on through it, but that couldn't be the case here! Dame Gray was a nutcase, sure, but that wasn't **her**; that was Nebilim's attempt to twist her goals for justice into something that was just all wrong! She would prove it by tapping that stupid symbol and once everyone saw that there was nothing wrong with it, then they would have to admit they were wrong and then maybe they'd get the idea that they were also wrong for trusting a stupid ghost and some old robot. After all, there were a lot of these symbols on the paintings; every portrait in the mansion had one painted on them.

She made sure the chair was in position before climbing onto it and reaching out to get a good handhold on the frame of the portrait, stepping onto the mantle in order to climb higher.

* * *

_"See? They don't trust you, they don't believe you. You're someone they are beginning to despise, to hate. The child huntress even echoes the sentimentality of those who stole the life of the one most precious to you so many millennia ago. You don't belong. This world is not for you. Doesn't that make you want to prove them wrong? To create a new world, like you once attempted to do?"

* * *

_

"Forty-seven percent, forty-eight... this isn't good." Danny muttered, glaring down at the screen of the PDA before lifting his head at the sound of Caleb laughing and clapping his hands.

"Why, what a good show, my sweet little huntress!" the android exclaimed brightly, beaming up at Valerie as she stood on the mantle, one hand splayed over the Trial symbol and glaring down at the team with a victory smirk on her face.

"See? Nothing!" she shot down at them, "Stupid Spook, I told you this wasn't a Trial for me! I don't have a sin!"

"Caleb! You said her sin was pride!" Sam shrieked in a fury, "You liar! I knew it! You lied to us this whole time and now we're stuck in this stupid town and this stupid level...!" She shook her fists in a rage, continuing to scream at the laughing redhead as the PDA chimed constantly.

"Forty-nine, fifty-three, fifty-four, fifty-seven... Danny, the meter's gone crazy!" Tucker exclaimed in horror, staring at the little image as it clenched its teeth in mock pain, flashing red and shaking as the counter went up, higher and higher. The halfa seemed to ignore him, stepping forward to grab Sam by the shoulder and startle her out of her rant.

"Of course I lied." Caleb murmured, smiling haughtily as he slipped his hands into his pockets, standing proudly before them as Jazz crept back to the fireplace. "That's the truth in your heads. You were growing suspicious of me, so I thought to test your loyalty by giving you false information. And through it all, only Danny Phantom believed in me." He lifted a hand to his heart, giving a little bow before reaching it out towards the halfa, beckoning him forward with a gentle expression. "Thank you for trusting in me. Come here, and I'll tell you, and only you, where the true symbol is and what the true sin is."

Sam, Jazz and Valerie all turned their gazes towards Danny, wary expressions on their faces while Tucker kept his eyes on the PDA, where the damage meter stopped climbing at sixty-five percent, the image hanging its tiny head down and looking exhausted. The halfa said nothing, just stood in place and gazed up at the redhead.

* * *

_"And here is where it shall occur. In the face of all that has transpired, the boy will finally despise you, for not providing all the benefits he desired from you. For not giving him power, for not being his tool. For that is all people think of you as; a tool, a slave, a nothing..."

* * *

_

"I trust Caleb, no matter what. He's my friend, and I'm his. We've got a bond of trust and friendship." Danny finally said in a confident and unwavering tone, ignoring the sounds of disbelief coming from around him, the hurt and angry and betrayed stares burning into him from his friends, family and former crush.

Caleb seemed to flinch, hand wavering just the tiniest bit, eyes widening just a little, the smile looking the faintest bit strained.

* * *

_"**What?** This was **not** supposed to happen! He wasn't supposed to remain trusting! He was to denounce you, **hate** you! No, **no**! You shall **not** have hope!"

* * *

_

"Lloyd said to remember everything I know about Symphonia's heroes, about the people that existed then and their histories. As long as I know about them, I can't be duped by anything Nebilim throws at us." Danny went on, clenching his hands into fists and shifting into a combat stance, "So I listened, and I watched, and I remembered everything you've done and said, and you don't sound or act anything like Caleb. You look like him, but you're not him."

"Then Jazz was right!" Sam declared, "This level warped Caleb's personality!"

"No!" Danny snapped at her, sparing her a single sharp glance before turning a fierce yellow-green glare on the redhead standing before them casually, "This level didn't affect Caleb's personality! The reason why **he**'s-" and the halfa thrust a finger at the android accusingly at that moment, "-been acting and talking the way he has isn't because he's Caleb with a messed up brain! It's because he's NOT Caleb, _period_! You're a **fake**!"

And the android only laughed, throwing his head back as one hand came up to cover his eyes.

"You mean, another Caleb 2.0?" Tucker blurted out in shock, a shiver of fear and dread crawling up his spine.

"No! He's right! I get it now too!" Jazz cried from her spot by the gas knob, hand already gripping it tightly and ready to turn it, "I thought something was wrong with him psychologically because the Eternal Sword Pin was missing, but now I see!" Her eyes widened with the revelation. "He doesn't have the Pin because he's not Caleb, and if he was a duplicate Caleb, then we'd question him even more for not using **his** Pin to trick the militia or repair his damages!"

"Well, if he's not any kind of Caleb," Sam growled, eye twitching in irritation, "then who the hell is he?" Danny grinned, a challenging smirk that displayed teeth as he kept his glare on the android before him, the redhead finally done with laughing and now watching him smugly, hands on his hips.

"Acting like a ladies' man, perverted way of talking, became part of the group as a spy and mole; it can only be the original man that Caleb was based on in terms of looks. Remember?" he questioned and nodded as the Goth uttered a little yelp and whipped out her textbook again, flipping the pages to the group portrait, "That's right. This isn't Caleb. It's Zelos Wilder, when he first started out with Lloyd's group. He just changed his hair to match Caleb's style."

It all made sense; the two sets of footprints in that tunnel, both exactly the same except for the treads, the change in cooking style -emphasizing meats and sweets for them all-, the overly affectionate tendencies, but most damning of all was the complete lack of calling either him or the Wonder Chef by their pet names. It was Caleb who said that he never called his best friend by his real name or his title, but by the nickname of Wren. And Danny had only just gotten his own nickname, Raven. This guy, Zelos, didn't call them by those names. Was it something only Caleb did, or did Nebilim have no clue?

"So if that's Zelos, then what happened to the **real** Caleb?" Valerie finally chimed in, glaring down at the two of them with the same wary and distrustful expression, hand still pressed against the painting over the unresponsive symbol.

"That's another thing that took me a while to figure out." Danny agreed curtly, "One point of damage every hour, up until all those bad things were being said about Caleb. I counted backwards in terms of time, and the answer is that he started getting damage the night we were first run out of Damon-Gray. Remember that was when he went back into the town when it got dark." _'When he went back to return the handcuffs and light the torches.'_ his mind agreed. "Caleb went into the kitchen supply store to escape the militia, found that secret tunnel from his memories, and met up with this guy once he got in deep enough. Somehow, Caleb got captured and Zelos took his place." he growled, "Now, **where** is he?"

"I bet this thing can show us." Jazz remarked with a faintly vicious grin, twisting the knob under her hand. The fire went out in a sharp puff, and the entire fireplace shuddered, causing Valerie to leap off of it in a hurry. It began to slide aside, but the redhead rushed in and slammed a foot against it, jamming it back into place as he glared out at the group.

"I don't think so." Zelos growled as a figure appeared on the walkway above him, gazing coldly down at the teenagers, "Lord Nebilim's shifting priorities in order to get the host body; we'll be keeping the Fallen Angel, thank you very much. If you want him back, hand over Danny Phantom." And with that, the figure leaped out from above, touching down in the den beside Zelos in full huntress gear, a deep red suit accented with black and various small weapons adorning her boots, legs, and belt.

"Dame Gray!" Valerie gasped, horror and revulsion hitting her once again like a hard punch to the gut. She stepped back as the woman held a hand out to her, much the same way Zelos beckoned to Danny.

"Come and join us, Valerie. Once Lord Nebilim claims his host body, we'll all work together to fill the world with only the purest of beings." she purred as the redhead by her pulled the Wonder Fork from his back and held it forward, a circle of light spinning at his feet as he murmured.

"I don't think so. You're a sick freak if you think murdering innocent people just to purify the world is something I wanted to do!" the young huntress snapped back and screamed in sudden pain, clutching her head as the flare of rage washed over her again.

"Then we'll make do with what we have! Let your sin consume you!" Dame Gray spat, eyes glowing a brilliant crimson.

The den erupted into a flurry of action; Team Phantom unanimously declared that Nebilim had to be insane to think they'd sacrifice Danny, Zelos finished casting his spell to increase Dame Gray's power, Danny projected a Ghost Shield to protect his friends -mistaking the spell for an attack-, and Valerie grabbed for a letter opener left on a tea table, face twisted in a mix of pain and fury. Jazz spotted the movement, reached out from her place by the gas knob, and screamed as the other girl turned and moved swiftly.

_"Danny! Behind you!"_

It seemed so surreal, and in Jazz's horrified mind, everything was moving so slowly she wondered why she didn't just get up and walk over to slap that letter opener away. But she couldn't move, her body just locked up, and all Jazz could see, despite not wanting to see, was the entire agonizing moment where Valerie moved those few steps during the distraction of the rest of the team. The moment where she braced the sharp object and thrust it forward, driving it straight into her little brother's back. Some detached part of her mind noted the tip of the opener peeking through the center of his insignia, and clinically reminded her that it meant his heart had been pierced. Death would be instant, or near enough.

Jazz remembered kissing him on the head and mentioning how she was always there to listen that day she discovered his identity as Danny Phantom, she remembered being proud of him for admitting he had peeked at the C.A.T. test answers but chose not to cheat with them; she remembered helping him through thick and thin, of thinking how valuable she was as a caring big sister to her dear little brother. And now... no more.

Valerie stepped back, hands shaking and stained glowing green, as she and the rest of the teens stood in stunned disbelief, staring at the ornate letter opener buried to the hilt in the halfa's back. The Ghost Shield before them flickered, once, twice, then faded as it fell, a rapidly disappearing cascade of glowing green ecto-energy. Danny Phantom swayed where he stood, silent, before dropping to his knees, then finally falling forward, sprawling across the carpet. He lay there, unmoving, eyes closed. Jazz gave a little whine of despair and escaped the sight of it all the only way she knew; she fainted, slumping back against the wall as her head rested on the brick of the fireplace.

"I... I did it...?" Valerie murmured, eyes wide and face pale, oblivious to the stunned expressions around her, "I actually... after all this time...?"

Sam's wail of grief cut through the air and the Goth shoved her aside, rushing to the fallen half-ghost and throwing herself over him. Tucker dropped to his own knees, hanging his head as he held the PDA close to himself. The huntress looked around herself, at the people in despair, at Dame Gray and Zelos who both grinned the same cruel grins at her, at her own hands coated in glowing green ectoplasm.

"Congratulations. You've taken the first step down the path to enacting the Great Seeds Plan." Dame Gray chuckled, red eyes fading back to her normal color, "You've disposed of the first non-human, only millions more to go."

"No..." Valerie whispered, fear running through her again, "No, this isn't... this isn't what I wanted...!"

"Aw, hunny, what's the matter?" Zelos cooed at her, spinning the Wonder Fork to one side, "Didn't you get that this would happen when you embraced your sin?"

A ring of white flashed over the fallen halfa, splitting in two and traveling the length of his body. Much of him was still hidden by the stained black cloak and hood, Sam still bent over him in weeping, but Valerie could see one hand from where she stood. It wasn't gloved anymore, wasn't glowing, wasn't... ghostly. It looked like a human hand, like any normal human. Her stomach dropped, lurched, twisted in cold realization. Non-human, Dame Gray said, but this body... this person; this was a human, but one with the ability to become a ghost.

"He's human...!" she whispered loudly and Dame Gray chuckled malevolently.

"Human? He was a disgrace to humanity, to the perfect beings we are. Filthy vermin." the woman returned with a twisted smirk on her face, "A fitting end for the son of the people that unleashed ghosts upon the world to begin with, stabbed in the back by the girl who swore to protect him from himself." Sam shot her head up, tear-filled eyes glaring viciously back at her.

"Shut up! Don't say things like that about Danny!" she yelled and Valerie could now catch a glimpse of the silent figure stretched out on the floor. Raven black hair, messy as always, with baby blue eyes that would never open again. And it was **her** fault, now that she knew who it was that lay there, who it was that had stood by them as Danny Phantom when all along he was that sweet guy she thought she was protecting with her vendetta against ghosts. But no, no, no, it was **her** sin that blinded her to him, until it was too late; and with her own hands, she...

She froze, thoughts chasing one another until she came to the awful realization, and the green ectoplasm covering her hands took on a whole new meaning.

_"Nooo!"_ Valerie screamed in horror, holding her hands as far from herself as possible, tears streaming down her face.

The fireplace suddenly shifted, as though rammed from behind violently, the painting shook on the wall and dust billowed out from around the brick mantle. Another ram, then another, and Dame Gray and Zelos both glared behind themselves at the fireplace.

"Someone wants to join the party." the redhead growled and unfurled orange and rose-colored wings, taking to the air as Dame Gray leaped upwards and manifested her own hover board to stand on, gazing down at the mourning teenagers. "Damn, I didn't think he'd bond that strongly to someone who only has a mana match and doesn't carry a direct bloodline." he added irritably, "That's either him, or the soul within, being such a pissy bastard."

Several more rams, and the fireplace finally exploded outwards, scattering shards and chunks of brick and wood all over the den. Sam didn't budge from where she knelt by Danny, but Jazz came to with a start, scrambling away from the massive hole in the wall with minor injuries of her own. Valerie flinched, shrinking back as Tucker lifted his head with a shocked look.

"Caleb!" he blurted out.

The green-clad redhead stood unsteadily in the makeshift entrance, arms out and clutching the sides in order to hold himself upright, bright green eyes focused solely on the fallen halfa. One arm came down from supporting him, stretched forward to point at Danny, and began quickly tracing something into the air.

_"Bring back this soul from purgatory! Resurrection!"_ the android declared almost breathlessly, and thrust his open hand forward. A shining pair of wing-like lights bloomed over the fallen halfa before fading into him. Sam pulled back at last, startled, as Danny shifted and groaned, the letter opener having vanished once the spell took effect. The Goth jerked her head up to glare at Valerie, then bent to whisper something to him and the ring appeared once more, quickly passing over him as Danny Phantom sat up to look around in shock, one hand pressed to his chest where the tip of the opener had come through.

"Wha-? What do you mean, 'she knows'? What the heck happened?" the ghost boy blurted out and spotted the android, "Caleb!" He jumped to his feet, cloak nearly tangling his legs in the process. The White Armlets thrummed with power suddenly, making them feel oddly tight over his wrists as they reacted to something the stones didn't like.

"When... when no one else... believed me... it was my closest friends... my dearest friends... who kept their trust..." Caleb huffed out, staggering forward from the room behind the fireplace. A large black crystal shone from within, revealed once he moved out of the way. "Thank you... Raven..." the android murmured, dropping before Danny and pulling the startled halfa into a hug, "I'm not... like him... You knew that... all along..."

_'Him **who**? You keep saying that but I don't know what you're talking about!'_ Danny thought to himself in exasperation and looked up at Sam almost helplessly. "Why can't anyone just be clear with me today?" he complained, "Is it Let's Be Cryptic to the Ghost Boy Week in this Book or what?" And the armlets kept up that thrumming, even more now that Caleb was so close to him. What the heck was wrong with them? He hadn't used up all the stones yet!

Above them, Zelos rolled his eyes and held the fork out to cast another spell. "This has been lovely, but we're taking **one** of you back with us! Dame Gray! Let's go!" he declared as the casting light bloomed into view again, _"Defend us from the blows of the enemy! Field Barrier!"_ Auras of blue surrounded him and Dame Gray as the woman pulled a pair of guns from her belt with an annoyed 'tch'.

"We'll take the Fallen Angel, android; I **will** have my kill!" she shrieked and aimed the guns down at Caleb and Danny.

"Run!" Jazz screamed, already bolting for the doors. The other teens caught on and scrambled to escape as well, Caleb scrambling to join them and kick the doors open, moving back to place himself between the phantom and Dame Gray as a shield.

"Get through! Hurry!" he cried and flinched, raising an arm at the multiple blasts spraying the room after them as Dame Gray tried to get to Danny. The halfa weaved around what few shots made it past the android, panicking as he passed through into the main foyer.

"But what about the damage you picked up?" Danny blurted out and yelped as Caleb only scooped him up and ran after the other teens, the group already making their way to the front doors.

"It's mostly internal sensor systems damage! I can still manage to move and cast spells!" the android returned sharply, "Be glad Nebilim didn't have the chance to completely destroy my energy system with Dark mana!" He halted at the doors, watching the teens struggle to open it before sighing harshly and setting Danny down on his feet. "What are you doing?" he hissed at Valerie and Jazz, "We can't **run**! This is the pre-Trial! We have to find the symbol!" A faint voice called out another spell and Caleb's expression darkened, "And I have to reclaim the Wonder Fork."

"We tried!" Valerie sobbed, gripping her sleeves with green-stained fingers, "The symbol didn't work and he lied... he lied about what it meant!" Caleb peered at her, grabbed her wrist and stared intensely at her hand before shoving it away with a growl.

"Raven, what the hell is she talking about?" he demanded of Danny, who only snatched the PDA from Tucker's hands and shoved it into his face, the halfa on the verge of panic himself.

"I took a photo of the painting back there! It had a symbol and Zelos said it was pride!" he babbled as Caleb grabbed the device and peered at it, eyes narrowing in frustration.

"He wasn't lying on that; this **is** the character for 'pride'. If it didn't activate when she touched it, then it's a fake sin. You have to find the real symbol, her real sin." he replied in a rush and started poking at the keys, flinching at odd times before pushing the device back into Danny's hands. "Take it and search the mansion. I'm going back to face those two and recover the Wonder Fork."

"How can we translate without-?" Sam blurted out as Caleb stepped back to cast his own _Field Barrier_ on the team.

"I've opened a communications option on it! Just take a photo of the symbol and hit 'Send'. I'll relay the translation through the PDA; just make sure Valerie touches it!" he replied curtly, "Now get going!" With that, he turned and ran for the den again.

"Be careful! You're at sixty-five!" Tucker yelled after him and grabbed the device back from Danny, "You heard the man! Let's find more paintings! If the first symbol was on that massive portrait, the real one might be on another!"

So with the raging battle between Caleb, Zelos and Dame Gray acting as a demented form of musical background, the teens raced down the first hallway they had seen by the main staircase, searching the paintings for more unusual symbols. All the while, Valerie continued to stare at Danny, a myriad of emotions running through her, twisting around themselves as the strange burning from before grew slowly within. Her headache seemed to be coming back, and the more she stared at the halfa, the worse it seemed to get, so she would look away to relieve the pain. But she would inevitably look back, because she still couldn't believe it; Danny Fenton, the guy she had liked, **still** liked even, was really Danny _Phantom_, the ghost she blamed for her life going down the toilet.

Was this some sick joke the Book was playing on her?

"There aren't any symbols on these paintings!" Jazz finally declared between puffs of air, wiping a bit of blood away from her forehead before blinking in surprise at the red staining her fingers. A fragment of brick had clipped her when the fireplace exploded, inflicting the minor injury that Caleb had overlooked in his focus on resurrecting Danny. She hadn't noticed it in her relief to see her brother resurrected and unharmed, wanting to rush over and hug him but things went sour again before she had the chance. Jazz shook herself off and looked around at their surroundings, one arm moving to wrap around her brother's shoulders as a makeshift shield when the background noise grew more frenzied, explosions muffled by the walls around them. "We'll have to go back, find another set of paintings." the carrot-top murmured, "Move fast, everyone! We don't want to get caught in that fight!"

"Let's try upstairs." Sam agreed in a rush, shooting furtive glances towards Valerie, "There were paintings lining the wall going up that way, so there should be more along the second floor halls." Jazz nodded, whipping out the Fenton Peeler and armoring up, Tucker pulling the Lens gun from its holster and taking a position by Danny.

"Guys, not this again!" the phantom complained, flinching at the collective glares shot his way.

"Just to fill in the blanks in your memory," Sam began to growl and jerked a thumb over her shoulder, "you just **died** back there in that room. Caleb had to revive you with magic. We're not taking chances that your old girlfriend here could snap and do it again."

"I'm **not** his girlfriend!" Valerie snapped reflexively, anger rushing through her at the thought before she could rein it back in and thump herself mentally. If Danny Phantom was Danny Fenton, then she supposed she had been sort of a girlfriend... maybe...

Danny blinked at her owlishly before turning to Sam. "She knows I'm...?" he trailed off weakly at the sight of her glare.

"I told you that from the get-go, but you were too busy fanboying over Caleb to pay attention!" the Goth grumbled, ignoring the ghost boy's plaintive 'I wasn't fanyboying!' in favor of looking over at the huntress. "You seriously crossed a line here, Valerie. Screw up again, and I'm not responsible for where **my** knife ends up. Got it?" she growled and turned to get ready to run, "Now let's move it, people! We have to find that symbol!"

Clouds of dust and debris were already filling the foyer, beams and streams of light and fire shooting through it at random, along with the intermittent yells of the two androids as they called out incantations and chants for a number of spells. Team Phantom skidded through the thick of the smoke and dust, coughing briefly as they scrambled for the stairs. There was some amount of swearing and angry shouts in that mess of fighting, and Danny could hear a fair amount of it coming from Caleb as he kept up the battle to recover the fork. It was a stall tactic, that much he knew for sure. For all the phantom knew, Caleb could have already gotten it back, but kept pestering them until the teens could find and activate the real Trial symbol.

Without that, there would be no way to stop Dame Gray and get Valerie past her sin. Danny wondered for a tiny moment how many spells Zelos knew in comparison to the massive list Caleb had for himself.

His friends all but stampeded up the staircase, scanning each painting as they went by, and he flew up alongside them, warily watching the clouds of dust for signs of someone coming after them. There was a flash of light and heat, and Danny quickly put up a shield, deflecting a small barrage of fireballs that arced towards him and the others. Did Caleb miss with the spell, or was that something Zelos did?

"Found one!" Jazz exclaimed from where she stood before a portrait of Dame Gray when she first stood in her new town. A strangely intricate symbol was painted gracefully in one corner instead of a signature. Tucker held the PDA forward and snapped a photo, hitting the 'Send' button almost immediately afterward.

_"Envy."_ came the reply a second later, causing the device to ding as it arrived in the form of a tiny chat window.

"The sin of envy?" Tucker questioned as Valerie moved forward to put her fingers against the symbol, the girl shuddering once more at the sight of the green color and strangely fearful of the delicate character on the canvas. No mystical glow appeared, no soft voice announced its question; this was yet another fake.

"Keep going!" Sam growled and whipped her head around, "Danny! Move! We're checking the second floor!" The ghost boy shook his head, projecting another shield in time to stop a flurry of lightning bolts from hitting the group as they darted into the upstairs hall, Jazz's head a white blur as she looked around quickly. "Danny!"

"Which way do we start?" Jazz exclaimed, and blinked when Valerie ducked in from behind her and pointed.

"There! That's her main office! We'll work our way back to here and then on to her tactical office!" she declared breathlessly, "I want to see what else she's been planning; we have to stop her Great Seeds Plan!" She began to move forward when the carrot-top grabbed her arm, looking up at one of the paintings along the wall.

"This one has a symbol." she growled and Tucker held out his PDA, snapping a photo and sending it off. The device dinged and he read off the reply.

_"Fear."_ he reported as Valerie put her hand to the painting. She whipped her head around and glared at him.

"No way in hell am I afraid of some stupid ghosts!" she snapped. Sam growled, still staring out at Danny, who flitted about before them and projected shields to defend them from bursts of magic.

"You looked plenty scared when you realized you killed Danny Fenton." the Goth pointed out and shot back a venomous look. Valerie only matched it.

"That was just a trick! Something Nebilim did to psych me out 'cuz this is **my** level!" she argued in return, waving her arms about wildly, "He somehow found out I used to date him, like he found out about my mountain town dream, and he foisted Danny Fenton's looks onto the Spook so I would freak!"

"Less talking, more searching!" Danny called back over his shoulders. The barrage of spells was becoming more accurate as the seconds passed, and he was starting to feel the effort of flying about to try keeping up with them all. Why were his friends just gabbing on over there? They still had to find that real symbol!

Footsteps pounded up the stairs, and Danny threw one hand towards the source of the sound, firing off a hefty Ghost Ray to break the steps and keep whatever that was from making it to the top. Wood exploded into splinters and charred bits, a startled cry sounded, and a flare of wings cut through the dust, flapping madly to clear it away. Once it was all swept away by the makeshift wind, Danny could see just what damage he'd caused. The armlets thrummed once more and he reached up to rub at one of them absently, staring down at the half-blown staircase.

_"What you are doing is meaningless. Just acknowledge what you truly want, and give in to your true self. The two of you... are so much alike..."_

"Nebilim." Jazz growled softly as Valerie clutched her head.

"We're not alike!" she yelled, "I wouldn't murder innocent people just to save the world! That's not who I am!"

"Caleb! Get up!" Danny shouted down at the android, who clung to the remaining steps and just seemed to hang there, wings unfolded and motionless. As the halfa suspected, the giant fork was strapped to his back once more. He winced, Caleb must have been running up the stairs, and instinct had Danny fire on him in the blinding dust to keep a potential enemy from coming after his friends. Funny, why was that the time Nebilim decided to talk, and he wasn't even talking to him?

The armlets tightened around his arms again and Danny put up another shield, deflecting a flurry of lightning bolts as he flew down to join the android, only to pull back when the armlets suddenly began to burn and he yelped in pain. What _was_ that?

"We are **not** alike! I won't murder innocent people, pretending to save the world! That's not who I am! My friends **knew** I was different, that I'm **not** him!" Caleb suddenly shouted angrily, head hanging down as he started kicking at the air, "Stop trying to warp me!" There was a crack and the step he held onto collapsed, dropping the redhead just as Dame Gray shot up on her hover board to meet him.

The resulting chaos seemed to be a blur to Danny. He flew back to avoid being shot at, putting up another shield to deflect the bursts from her gun and the fireballs from Zelos, who flew up on rose-gold wings with a smug grin.

"Hey, Buddy! Thanks for handing him over for us!" the other redhead remarked cheerfully, giving Danny a mocking salute. The halfa's face went blank with confusion as Sam grabbed his arm and dragged him back to the rest of the group, Jazz trying to figure out what was wrong with Valerie while Tucker darted from painting to painting in search of more symbols.

"Got it!" the technophile exclaimed, snapping another photo and sending it off. The reply came quickly, a wild pinging that sounded almost frantic.

_"Disgust! Get me out of here! Shoot the crystal! The crystal!"_ Caleb's answer all but screamed at them, the teens moving hurriedly to join Tucker at the painting. Valerie shook off her pain just enough to slap her hand against the character, wincing as the myriad of curves and lines remained unlit. Another fake.

"What crystal is he talking about?" Danny demanded, maintaining the shield as best he could with Sam dragging him all over the place. The Goth snapped the fingers of her free hand, eyes lighting up in realization.

"That black one! Remember? There was a giant black crystal in the room behind the fireplace, where Dame Gray and Zelos hid Caleb." she blurted out, "I bet that's the one he's talking about!" Danny chanced a glance back at her, the storm of gunshots dying down momentarily.

"Why does he want us to shoot that thing?" he questioned and jumped as the hover board crashed into the glowing green wall that he held between them and the two pre-Trials. It shook fiercely, but it held, and Danny gaped out at the sight of Caleb sitting on the same hover board, fighting to yank Dame Gray's weapons out of her hands while Zelos struggled to pull the Wonder Fork from his back again. "Hey! He's in trouble out there!" he exclaimed and pressed the heel of one hand to his forehead, "Oh man! Okay, let me think!"

The crystal was downstairs in the den; they couldn't go down the stairs since Danny shot them, and they couldn't go back down the hall anyway since Dame Gray and Zelos were blocking the way. Nebilim was obviously doing something underhanded since Caleb kept freaking out, usually about the time Danny's White Armlets acted up, so maybe the two were connected somehow. Since Caleb admitted that he was allergic to Dark mana, and Nebilim used Dark mana, then maybe the black crystal was like some giant version of the White Quartz Danny was using to get Light mana in his Ghost Rays, and it was being used somehow to damage Caleb. The two were opposite, so that must be why he was saying to shoot the crystal.

But they also had to find the Trial symbol. Without that activated, Dame Gray was unbeatable. And even worse, she had Zelos on her side, with who knew what kind of spells and still dressed like Caleb, which made things just plain confusing to deal with in terms of target-practice.

"Jazz, you've still got Light element on, right?" the halfa barked at his sister. She looked startled, but nodded quickly. "Okay, we're gonna split up." Danny planned out quickly, eyes darting about at each of his friends to be sure they were listening, "Sam, Tucker, you go with Valerie and keep testing these paintings to find that symbol. Jazz, you and I are gonna head into Dame Gray's office and jump down into the den. The way this place is set up, that's probably how she jumped us in the first place." He shot another worried glance towards Caleb, the android twisting in place to kick at his copycat while trying to keep his grip on the woman's guns. "Tucker, what's his damage?" he called out.

Tucker hit a few keys to check and bit his lip, shaking his head at what he saw. "Not looking good, Danny. He's climbed a couple of points, sixty-seven percent. A few more hits, or even one solid one..." he returned grimly.

"And he'll activate an Over-Limit Mode, and I still don't get what those do to him. Well, besides act like a complete mental case." Danny sighed harshly, "Okay, we have our plan. Let's move it!" He dropped the shield, fired a couple of blasts of ectoplasm at Zelos to get him off Caleb's case for a bit, then turned and flew straight for the office, scooping Jazz up by the arms along the way.

"You heard him! Start hitting paintings!" Sam snapped at the red-clad huntress. Valerie hissed in pain, glaring at her through one eye as she pressed her hands to her head again.

"Oh, shut up! I know what I'm supposed to do!" she growled, but hurried on to the next painting, the three teens growing more desperate to find a way to stop the pre-Trial and get out of there before Nebilim could halt them dead in their tracks.


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: Still offlined, managed to get this done at Wendy's. Warning: Valerie's Trial is NOT very nice. Please be forewarned that descriptions may be a touch on the disturbing side.

PS: The Divine Justice Zelos uses here is different from the one normally found in the games, as this version was first created in Eye of the Beholder. Okay, carry on!

* * *

27

Danny had only the quickest of glimpses of the office before he was shooting out the side entrance and looking down at the officially wrecked den. He felt a sudden sharp bite of anger at seeing it; to think that he had been in this room, this **very** room, just the night before. Caleb had been right **there** the whole time and he hadn't even known it! What kind of friend was he if he hadn't even known-?

"Danny, I know what you're thinking, and you can just drop that line of thought right there." Jazz growled, looking up at her brother as he hovered there in place, "You couldn't have known Caleb was here when his fake was at the hotel with us, trying to break our trust in him." The halfa chewed on his lip, floating down to the den itself and landing in front of the ruined fireplace. "There _wasn't_ any way you could know." Jazz insisted, "You sense ghosts, not machines running on mana. That's **your** blind spot, just like pure ectoplasm is Caleb's blind spot."

"It'd be nice to be able to sense both." Danny grumbled to himself as he looked into the hole in the wall. There it was, the giant black crystal that Caleb wanted them to destroy. It stood on a golden pedestal, shimmering with magical power, and looked a great deal like the smaller stones decorating his armlets and the slightly larger one that had been fitted into Jazz's gun.

"Well, let's do this, Little Brother." Jazz pointed out determinedly, raising her arm-cannon to point at the massive quartz. Danny charged up the Ghost Ray in both hands and fired both bursts in concert with Jazz's single beam of Light-powered energy.

The crystal quaked under the assault, shaking in place as the entire building seemed to rattle in synch with it, dust and bits of the ceiling raining down on them. Danny glanced around, initially puzzled by the reaction, then went back to glaring at the crystal. Then there was a howling, some kind of shriek of anger, and the doors to the den blew back the other way, ripped off their hinges by a blast of power. Startled, Danny and Jazz's heads whipped around to see what caused it.

Zelos stood in the doorway, hair lifting and sweeping around him in some invisible wind, a strangely malevolent aura of white energy surrounding him. His eyes were solid black, glowing eerily, inhumanly, and a furious expression painted his face, making him all the more ghastly. Add in the fact that the redhead was still dressed in Caleb's clothing, and the sight was enough to make anyone call quits on the whole adventure.

"Um..." Danny mused aloud, glancing between his sister and the man in the doorway, "Did Caleb know this would happen if we blasted this crystal?"

"Ask him after we get out of this mess!" Jazz exclaimed, eyes wide with alarm, "He's coming right for us!"

_"Crimson fire, burn! Eruption!"_ Zelos raged, hands tracing some pattern over himself before he spun and lifted his arm straight up. The floor cracked suddenly below Jazz and Danny, rumbling and glowing with a red-orange light as a blast of heat started shooting up from below.

"Jazz! Run!" Danny blurted out in shock, dropping the Ghost Rays in favor of flying back from the incoming spell. His sister jumped aside, diving for cover just as the floor blasted upward in a geyser of rock and lava, bubbling and swirling once it touched floor and creating a protective moat before the black crystal.

"What was **that**?" the carrot-top cried in alarm, peeking over the back of a sofa at the fading results of the spell cast at them. Danny phased through the furniture and appeared at her side, throwing one arm over the back of the sofa to project a protective Ghost Shield against further spells.

"One of Zelos's spells! Caleb told me a few things about the Heroes of Union, but I don't remember him saying that Zelos looked like **that** while using magic!" he replied, looking between him and the crystal, "You think it might have something to do with the fact that we were blasting that thing?" Jazz followed his gaze quickly, eyes narrowing as she turned the facts over in her head.

"If Nebilim was using that to damage Caleb, and attacking it brought Zelos here, then maybe Zelos and the black crystal are somehow connected. He could be drawing power from it and that's why he looks like a freak right now." she theorized in a rush of words, "If that gets destroyed, not only will it free Caleb from worrying about something negating his Light mana, but it might also take out Zelos and keep him from casting support spells for Dame Gray."

"Which makes her easier to beat later on." Danny agreed, "Okay, I'm gonna drop the shield. That moat won't let you pass, so keep Zelos busy while I take out the crystal." Jazz nodded grimly, the sound of her cannon gearing up for battle filling the air around them with a soft whine. He counted down silently, then flew out from behind the sofa, rushing forward to feint the red-haired man and shove the shield at him before letting it drop and swerving aside to fire the Ghost Rays on the crystal again.

Jazz dashed out right behind him, opening fire with her arm-cannon the moment Danny turned aside and hitting Zelos square in the chest with a concentrated blast. That sent the redhead flying out the den and Jazz hurried to take a position at the open door, watching to be sure he didn't come back in. Though Zelos remained outside the den, he **did** try sending a barrage of spells in to take her out.

_"Don't touch that!"_ he snarled, tracing another pattern, _"Spear of the earth, come forth! Grave!"_ He lifted his arm, and the floor quaked below Jazz, trembling violently. She danced about, trying to gain her balance and fell backwards in time to avoid being skewered by the more lethal of the spires of rock. The smaller stalagmites hit and sent her tumbling backwards into the den again, the redhead flying in after her with another spell firing almost immediately.

Danny looked back over his shoulder, watching worriedly as his sister continued rolling backwards to avoid the next blast of _Grave_, coming to a rest on her knees just behind the dissipating spell and opening fire on Zelos with a yell. The redhead floated in the air, wings flapping madly as he tried dodging the bursts, face twisted in fury with each volley pushing him back. Jazz was far too accurate with her shots to let him have any room to move in.

"Danny! Pay attention to the crystal! Leave Zelos to me!" she yelled at him, her focus still on the android fluttering in the air and gathering the mana for another spell.

"Right, right." the halfa muttered, returning to the massive chunk of black stone. It was cracking, shaking in place under the assault of Light-infused Ghost Rays. He bit his lip at the sound of small pops, the sounds of the White Quartz in his armlets breaking into useless pieces one after another as he kept up the stream of altered ectoplasm. It was draining the stones, and it was draining him as well. This was the longest he kept a Ghost Ray focused on a single target, firing at the highest power he could generate.

Overhead, he could hear the sounds of combat raging on, the pounding of footsteps, the firing of ecto-guns and yelling of orders, on-the-fly plans and tactics. He wondered what was making the walls shake harder, his blasting of the dark crystal or his friends upstairs rampaging around in their search for the real Trial symbol. The cracks spread further, deepening, and Zelos seemed to howl in some strange possessed rage, clutching his head as the green clothing he wore melted away, revealing his normal pink coat over a black shirt, billowy white pants and gold-embroidered shoes. When he pulled his hands down, his hair was his old style again, the white hairband holding it back.

_"We're taking the host body, and there is **nothing** you miserable humans can do to stop the arrival of the King of the Underworld."_ he snarled, tracing a new pattern over himself, _"Goddess of the heart and soul, lend me the strength of thy purest light..."_

Jazz kept her cannon trained on the android but glanced over at Danny in concern. "Daaaa~nny? What's he doing? I never heard of that one!" A line of sweat broke out on Danny's forehead as he split his focus, half intent on destroying the crystal, half trying to place where he'd heard that chant before. He'd heard it somewhere, one of those stories Caleb told him about back in Tucker's level... there was something important about it.

_"Exchange my soul in thine embrace for blessings of thy glory's might."_ the android went on, hissing the words as the crystal began to glow, radiating Dark mana even as the cracks deepened under the steady stream of the Ghost Ray. _"Cleanse all those who hold to heart the twisted evils of the dark..."_

And then it hit him. Danny blinked as he realized where he'd heard those words. Caleb had recited them as part of the spell that the Zelos, Lloyd and Kratos of Symphonia had used together to defeat Sérno and his wife. It was a spell that, at the time, was the most powerful Symphonia had ever seen, rivaling _Incineration_ in strength.

"Jazz!" he cried, dropping the beam in favor of putting up a shield over his sister, "That's the spell for _Divine Judgment_! It takes three angels to cast it, but an android can do it by itself!"

"Danny, get back to breaking that crystal!" she snapped back at him, "He's drawing power from it to cast the spell! Destroy it and he won't be able to cast it!" He only stared at her, shocked. Shooting the crystal meant dropping the shield, and if he didn't destroy it in time, Jazz would be defenseless against _Divine Judgment_. "Danny, trust me! I'll be fine! Break it! Hurry!" the carrot-top yelled, and Danny swallowed hard, nodding once before dropping the ectoplasmic dome that covered her, turning his attention back on the large stone shining in the space in the wall.

_"Abandon all hope in thine corrupt souls, those that wish to fulfill thine sinful goals!"_ Zelos continued once the dome dropped, a smile spreading over his face in anticipated victory, arm moving to point at her for the final incantation.

Shooting it would take too long, Danny knew; that had been the last line of the spell, and all Zelos would have to do was call the spell's name to unleash the destructive forces in the room and end it all then and there. There was one shot at this, one last ditch try at breaking the crystal. He charged up the Ghost Ray in both fists again, powering them to the highest he could and infused with the last of the White Quartz, then flew straight for the massive shard, slamming it head-on with his fists held directly before himself. Maybe he'd done enough earlier damage, maybe there was just enough Light mana in his charged punch to cancel the Dark in the crystal; whatever the case, the massive stone exploded into a shower of small shards as Danny hit the back wall and dropped to the floor in a pained daze.

Jazz held up her hands to block out the sight of a burst of light engulfing Zelos in the air, the android shrieking in pain and rage at the loss of power just before he could cast his last spell. She cringed, stepping back, and the light burst exploded just as violently as the black crystal. The shockwave threw her back against the sofa and it tilted back, dumping her onto the floor. She blinked in surprise at her now upside-down perspective.

"Wow. Didn't expect that to happen." she remarked to herself just as a new voice filled the air.

_"Memories of past events nourish the seeds of your future in your heart."_ the soft voice intoned, _"Your power reflects the fruit that grows from your heart. Will you reveal what grows in your heart?"_

There didn't seem to be anything more after that, no response of any kind. After another moment, the teen pulled herself together and got to her feet, wincing at several small aches and pains from her one on one with Zelos, then looked around to see where he went. The den was empty, save for the remnants of the spells and the damage they caused, and her brother lying half-curled in the space behind the fireplace. "Danny!" Jazz exclaimed in alarm, rushing to his side just in time for the scuffle upstairs to blast through the wall and come full circle.

Dame Gray was flung through first, smashing against the far wall of the den and sending books and paintings raining down as she tried to reorient herself on her hover board. Jazz gaped up at the woman, then crawled out and twisted to look up at the gap in the wall she'd come through. Valerie rushed into the den on her own hover board, Tucker riding behind her as they glared at the older woman. Fluttering in after them was Caleb, carrying Sam in his arms. The angelic android looked tired, worn out, the Goth unconscious and face hidden by her hair as she remained limp.

"Guys!" Jazz called up to them worriedly, "The crystal's gone! I heard the Trial voice; did you find the symbol?"

"Yeah, we did." Tucker returned, eyes still focused on Dame Gray, "How are you and Danny?"

"Danny took a nasty hit when he smashed the crystal, but he should snap out of it soon." the carrot-top reported and looked over at the android and Goth, "What about Caleb and Sam?"

"He's at sixty-nine percent, and Sam took a beating from Dame Gray." Tucker replied grimly, "Things aren't looking good for us. Valerie! Answer the Trial!"

_"Will you reveal what grows in your heart?"_ the voice demanded softly, and Valerie sniffled, clenched fists shaking as she blinked back angry tears.

"Yes." she managed to growl out through her teeth.

_"Then reap what you have sown for power."_ the voice returned scathingly, Dame Gray glaring at the young huntress as she rested on her hover board, teeth bared in a fury. Valerie nodded and took a deep breath.

"My sin is..."

* * *

Second Floor, Earlier~

_"Guardian!"_ Caleb cried, putting up the shield and holding his ground while Dame Gray slammed her ecto-guns against it in a rage. The trio of teens behind him darted from painting to painting, searching for more symbols after Danny and Jazz shot off for the office and into the den. He flinched under the assault, already preparing to dodge the moment the bubble of green broke.

In the meantime, Tucker snapped another photo of the latest symbol found on a painting, sending it away while Valerie slapped her hand against it.

"He said it's the symbol for misery." the techno-geek reported as the painted lines remained unlit.

"Well, it's right on one count." Sam groused, "It's pretty frickin' miserable how we can't _seem to find the right symbol_!" She rushed her last words in an angry tirade, stomping one foot against the floor just in time to have pieces of the ceiling fall from above them, the house beginning to shake. "Whoa." the Goth remarked in surprise, looking around, "Did I do that?"

"Graaaah!" A furious growl startled the group and they whipped their heads around in time to see Dame Gray smash through the _Guardian_ spell. Caleb threw himself back to avoid another blow from her guns, scrambling to grab the Wonder Fork from his back and cast another spell at the same time.

"Tucker! Damage count!" Sam snapped, grabbing him and Valerie by the arms and racing down the hall closer to the office, "Valerie! Keep searching for that symbol!" The young huntress grumbled under her breath as she scanned each painting they passed, the technophile taking a quick look at his PDA while trying to keep up.

"No change! He didn't take a hit from the bubble breaking!" he exclaimed just as Valerie dug in her heels and pointed at a painting.

"There! There's one!" she cried and pressed her fingertips against it just as Tucker turned the PDA on it to snap a photo. He sent it off, hoping that her fingers didn't cover too much of the marking.

_"Love!"_ the message returned, and the teens found themselves covered with the blue aura of a _Field Barrier _as Caleb finished his casting.

"Can't be that one! Try again!" the android declared, darting forward to stab the fork into the older woman, a blast of lightning dropping down onto her in the same blow, _"Super Lightning Blade!"_ Dame Gray was thrown backwards, recovering quickly enough to spray the hallway with blasts from her ecto-guns, forcing him to throw up another shield of mana, much thinner than before.

The mansion quaked again, more fiercely this time, and the teens struggled to keep their balance, arms windmilling about as they tried to figure out what to do next. There weren't any more paintings with symbols on this side of the hall, which meant they'd have to get past Dame Gray to reach the last set. Tucker set to typing into the PDA as Valerie activated her own huntress suit, whipping out an ecto-rifle to fire back on the older woman.

"Valerie? What the hell? You're gonna hit Caleb doing that!" Sam yelled in a fury, "Killing Danny wasn't enough for you, now you're trying to take **him** out?"

"Shut up! I'm **trying** to get Dame Gray off him so we can get out of here and into the other hall!" Valerie snapped back, "I don't see **you** coming up with any plans, Goth Girl!"

"We've got one." Tucker reported with a grim look as he read over the return message, "Told Caleb we're out of paintings and need the other side. He's gonna force Dame Gray out of the way and give us some time to run for it. Get ready."

And it was just as the two girls got into a stance for a mad dash that Caleb's second _Guardian_ spell broke and the android shot forward, wings unfolding with a rush of red-colored mana as he wrapped his arms around the crazed woman, pulling her off her board, flying out of the hallway with her and throwing her aside once they reached the broken staircase. Valerie, Sam, and Tucker raced after him, moving quickly and eyes wide as they watched Dame Gray be hurled down to the first floor. Before she could make impact, the woman's hover board keyed on and rushed out to dive after her. Dame Gray fell onto it instead and brought her guns back to bear on Caleb, enraged by the events and how quickly the tables had turned.

At the familiar sound of ecto-guns going off in a barrage of shots, Sam skid to a halt behind Tucker and Valerie as they reached the other half of the upstairs hall, the young huntress already searching the paintings for more symbols. She turned her head with a gasp, seeing the rapid-fire of ectoplasmic blasts kick up a huge cloud of dust and debris where the redhead had been hovering. Had Caleb been caught by the barrage of blasts? The shots stopped firing and she took it as a cue that Dame Gray had run out of ammunition.

"Caleb!" Sam called out, racing into the dust cloud to see if he was still in one piece, "Tucker! Damage count!"

There was a sudden whine of a weapon charging up, and she froze, unable to see where it was coming from or where the blast would go.

"In the name of my perfect world, _**die**_!" Dame Gray shrieked, and Sam still couldn't see anything, just threw up her hands in a futile form of defense just as Caleb's voice answered the threat with the yell for a third _Guardian_ shield, even thinner than the last.

"Sam! Where are you?" she heard Tucker shout her name in alarm, "Sam!"

She felt arms wrap around her, sensed a figure move over her, bracing in place, felt the oddly heavy silks and cottons of Caleb's servant's clothes against her bare arms... and then her eardrums seemed to explode with sound, painful and rattling her entire body.

A rocket of some kind, or maybe a powerful ecto-blast, hit nearby, narrowly missing them by a few inches thanks to the dust cloud, but it shattered the bubble of mana, sent Sam and Caleb flying away on the shockwave, tumbling through the air and then slamming into the floor, where they rolled into the safety of the covered hall leading towards the tactical office. Valerie took up a position, firing her own rifle out of the hall to keep Dame Gray from trying to reach them while Tucker scrambled to check on both Goth and android.

Caleb managed to pull himself up, unsteadily resting his weight on his arms as he tried to stand, wings folding down and away to make room for the techno-geek. Tucker spared him a quick glance before checking his PDA; sixty-nine percent damage. He'd cut it close with that one. If the blast had been a direct hit, he'd have to deal with Danny spotting the teacher in one of those Over-Limit Modes.

Sam hadn't come out of it as cleanly as Caleb had. She'd been knocked unconscious, the shockwave and impacts causing her nose and ears to bleed as she lay limply on the floor, paler than normal.

"Oh gosh, Sam! Sam, wake up!" Tucker cried in alarm, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her frantically, "Sam!"

_"Mana around me, mend this broken form. Cure!"_ Caleb chanted, holding the fork forward as shimmering light passed over the silent Goth. "That should heal her, but it might be some time before she's awake." he murmured and slid the Wonder Fork onto his back, "Don't panic; we still have to find that symbol."

"Oh, man. Danny's gonna own on me if he sees her like that." the technophile whimpered, but scrambled to his feet and turned to yell towards Valerie, "Let's go! They're okay, but we gotta search the paintings!" The huntress squeezed off several more shots, then clicked her tongue derisively before jogging back to join them.

"Fine, but let's search her office first. We gotta stop her Great Seeds Plan!" she told them hotly, "If Dame Gray sets off that Cleansing Wave thing, everyone in the world who isn't pure human the way she puts it is gonna die!"

"We don't have the time! Sam's been hurt by that crazed nut and now you wanna go poking around in her files when we could all be offed any second now?" Tucker exclaimed in disbelief, "Symbol first! Then crazy world plans!"

"It'll take forever to find that stupid symbol!" Valerie protested.

"Actually, we just found it." Caleb murmured, and both teens looked to him in surprise. He lifted a hand and pointed at the young huntress, or -more specifically- at her brooch. "That design is an angelic character."

Valerie blinked and looked down at the pin in even more surprise. Dame Gray had given it to her as a gift, along with the red dress-suit that now was covered by her huntress outfit. Odd, why was the brooch outside of the suit? Wouldn't the thing have been covered when she called it up? It was a pretty bit of jewelry, all gold and mother-of-pearl with a delicate design of emerald green lines cris-crossing all over it.

"It was right there the whole time?" Tucker cried in disbelief, throwing his arms up, "Right there? Wouldn't Zelos have seen it too?"

"Probably, but he wouldn't tell you about it. It would undo Nebilim's plan, obviously." Caleb returned dryly. He gestured towards the brooch. "It's the symbol for rage. Not surprising, considering her attitude towards everything and everyone that doesn't agree with her." He held her gaze, a flat and unimpressed glare meeting her puzzled expression. "After all, wasn't it rage that had you decide to hate ghosts, with Danny Phantom as the focus of all that anger?" the android posed thoughtfully. Valerie lifted a hand towards her mouth, about to protest when Tucker cut in before her.

"Danny said she was acting really ticked off when he went to see her, and Val," he added, looking aside at her with furrowed brows, "you went off the deep end when we all showed up to find you here at the mansion. All that yelling and threatening..." She looked at him in shock before racing through her memories, baffled by his words. Had she really done all that?

She remembered being annoyed that they had just shown up all of a sudden, and then... then she laid eyes on Danny Phantom, and it seemed like she saw red. Her head pounded and she felt like punching him, shooting at him, but she didn't have her guns on her and all she could do was vent and... and... _rage_. Her eyes widened and she looked down at the brooch in horror.

She had **raged** at them. And they hadn't done anything really, just popped up to see how she was and she just wigged out on them. Then that night where the ghost boy managed to sneak his way in to see her... and she flew into another rage at him. He'd tried to tell her something, acted all concerned -and maybe he _really_ was concerned and she was so pig-headed she didn't _listen_-, and she'd flown off the handle again.

"Oh my God..." Valerie choked out, shaking her head in shock. Rage, rage, anger and hate and so much _rage_; how could she have bottled all that up inside herself and be so _blind_ to it? Had Dame Gray and Zelos been right about her? Had she _really_ been that consumed by her sin of rage that she didn't even realize it until it got **this** horrible? Until she plunged that letter opener into Danny Phantom's back like a cowardly little girl? Where were her lofty ideals of justice and peace for mankind then, when all she felt was this sheer rage at the idea that she was stuck in this insane Book thanks to him? But really... Valerie chose to enter it herself. It was **her** choice to go in, not the ghost boy's. She just thrust all the blame on him because it was easier to be angry at him, to hate him, than to admit to her own faults. Numb with that realization, Valerie lifted her fingers and pressed them to the design on the iridescent shell.

_"Memories of past events nourish the seeds of your future in your heart."_ a soft voice suddenly spoke as the design lit up on the brooch, _"Your power reflects the fruit that grows from your heart. Will you reveal what grows in your heart?"_

Valerie stared at the brooch, faintly aware of the eyes all on her. So... it was true. She had a sin to overcome, and it was called rage. But, she still didn't understand. How did rage and anger make her like Dame Gray? She fought for justice, not rage! Why would it grow twisted like this?

"I..." she began, her voice breaking in shock and confusion. She didn't have the chance to say anything more; the floor further down the hall towards the office suddenly exploded upward, startling the group. Rising from below, amid the cloud of dust and debris, was Dame Gray, standing on her hover board with a malevolent glare on her face and a large ecto-cannon mounted on her shoulder.

"If you are not joining me in my Great Seeds Plan," she snarled, "then you will die with the rest of these inferior beings!"

"Running is good! Let's do that!" Tucker cried in alarm as Valerie snapped her ankles together for her own hover board. He jumped on after her and crouched down, Caleb snatching up Sam and shooting past them on his own wings to get out of the cramped space. Valerie's board managed to swerve around and the jets fired, the two of them zooming down the hall after the android and Goth. Dame Gray shot after them, firing off several volleys of the cannon in their direction.

The group made it into the office at the end of the hall, the same one Danny and Jazz had flown through to reach the den. Valerie growled to herself, pressing a button on her belt that summoned a pair of small missile launchers from the pack on her back, lifted over her shoulders and ready to fire. Caleb fluttered to a corner, touching down and spreading his wings flat to act as a shield over Sam. He looked worn out, and Tucker couldn't blame him, sneaking another peek at the PDA's display before swapping it for the Lens gun. The android was hovering on the brink of a Mode activation, his sensor systems badly damaged -otherwise Caleb would have probably known that Dame Gray was coming in from behind-, and now he was relying on the basic senses of sight and sound to figure out what was happening around him.

"Come on in, lady." Valerie growled, fed up with being scared and confused and wanting to be angry at _something_. If she was gonna confess to the sin of rage, then she'd rather do it after raging on someone who deserved it! She didn't have long to wait; the older huntress rushed in, head turning as she spotted the teens hugging the side wall, weapons pointed right at her. The two of them opened fire, a salvo of missiles and Lens fire hitting the woman and slamming her through the weakened wall of her own office and into the den. "Okay, now to finish her off so we can get the heck outta here!" the young huntress declared, "I am sick and _tired_ of this stupid Book and these stupid Trials!"

She floated out of the hole in the wall on her board, glaring at the disoriented woman with Tucker still riding by her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Caleb flutter out after her, searching out another safe spot to set down, probably to make some repairs. She heard Jazz below her, calling up to them, and Tucker replying. They threw words back and forth, she wasn't paying attention, and then that soft voice came back again.

_"Will you reveal what grows in your heart?"_ it repeated, and Valerie swallowed hard as she was reminded of what she had learned about herself. Rage; it was such an ugly word to describe her, to associate with her heart. But she had done nothing through the whole trip but be angry at everyone and blame and accuse and flaunt her hatred of ghosts and her new distaste for androids, and for what? To claim her actions were for justice when she just blasted away in blind anger and ended up hurting innocent people along with the ghosts she called evil? Angry tears stung at her eyes and she sniffled, blinking them away as she prepared to take that first step to face down that sin.

"Yes." she managed to growl out. Better to confess it and get it over with than to keep deluding herself and make another huge mistake. Maybe Nebilim **was** just messing with her head by creating the illusion of Danny Fenton lying in place of the ghost kid, but could she take the chance of someday hurting someone innocent for real?

_"Then reap what you have sown for power."_ the voice returned in a biting tone, and she could see Dame Gray look at her with such... hate. Such anger. She nodded and took a deep breath.

"My sin," she began, glaring back at the woman that seemed to be the new focus of her anger, "is the sin of rage." She tightened her hands into fists, swallowing hard to continue. This felt so hard to do; had it been like this for Jazz and Sam and Tucker too? To admit to something so deep and private? "I was angry all the time, deep inside, and I guess I took it out on less popular people by being who I was back when I was rich and popular." Valerie went on, "And then Danny Phantom and that ghost dog took away my popular life, and I got even angrier. I blamed them for it all, for my life sinking so fast, for my dad losing his job, for making everything so much harder for me." She blinked back tears, shaking her head. "But then, it's not like I was really doing anything important as a rich kid, huh? I didn't try to help anyone, only looked out for myself, and then when I became like the average kid, I still treated everyone else like they were beneath me.

"And then Mr. Masters gave me ghost-hunting stuff and told me to take out the ghosts that ruined me, and now I had a whole new bunch of targets for all that anger and hatred in me. I thought I was doing good, thought I was doing right by staying angry at ghosts. It's not like they did any good for anyone else, right?" Valerie questioned and sighed harshly, "And then that whole relationship I had with Danny Fenton... The first really good thing I had in a long, long time... and stupid me, I threw it away because being enraged at ghosts was more important to me than being at peace with a friend." She shook her head, chuckling sadly. "Oh, I told myself that I was doing it to protect him, to keep him safe from the ghosts I was hunting, but who am I kidding? Deep down, I couldn't handle trying to be normal with one nice guy and be mad at ghosts and hate them at the same time. It was one or the other, and I chose my rage over him."

Her shoulders sagged, and Valerie felt as though she just exhausted herself with that confession. "So, yeah. That's my sin. I held onto rage and hate, and I used that to motivate me in my hunting, spouting justice and all that junk when, really, I was just really ticked off at everyone but myself." she finished.

The room was silent, save for the whines of the hover boards keeping both Grays in the air. Valerie looked around herself, expecting some response to her confession. Down below, Jazz pulled Danny out of the space behind the fireplace, the lava moat now cooled enough to be rock.

"Everything you've done so far was fueled by rage. Rage leads to hate, which leads to more rage; it turns into this awful cycle that traps you and blinds you to everything else." the carrot-top agreed, slinging one of Danny's arms over her shoulders and helping him stand. "Admitting and acknowledging that is the first step to finally overcoming it and understanding that not everyone is a potential enemy."

"Yeah... I guess." Valerie returned with a half-shrug. Personally, she still figured ghosts weren't good for the world, but she'll call a truce for now.

_"Miserable little **vermin**!"_ Dame Gray snarled, drawing attention back to her. The woman stood on her hover board, her huntress suit moving over her body like some living fabric, pulling and warping as her head was swallowed up by the red outfit. Boots stretched out and shaped themselves into talons, piercing into the metal of the board; gloves extended far beyond normal lengths and gave her arms a long and lanky appearance before her muscles began bulging, hands transforming into claws. Her face mask warped the most, molding itself to her head like a second skin and then ballooning outward to resemble the head and mouth of a spider, mandibles clicking rapidly in a fury. _"Rage is the only way you can ever attain power, power to **crush** your enemies and purify the world!"_ she hissed out, voice distorted and reverberating past the new form of her mouth. The shadows passed over her suit, settling into a pattern of swirls and curves against the blood-red of her 'skin'. _"I am that which grows in your heart, your source of power, the only path you can ever take, you weak and pathetic maggot; I am The Enraged, and I shall cleanse the world of vermin!"_ the Trial monster shrieked, her hover board sprouting a pair of rockets that fired straight up to hit the ceiling.

The teens covered their heads, crying out in alarm as the rockets slammed into the roof and the entire mansion shuddered violently. A wave of light began eating away at the building, passing rapidly over the wood and brick and stone, and leaving behind empty space, open air. Even the town beyond the mansion was disappearing, replaced with the churning black and red clouds of the normal levels within the Book.

"Trial level's been activated!" Caleb exclaimed, dropping down to land beside Jazz. He looked Danny over with a critical eye, visually searching him for any new injuries before looking over at the remnants of the black crystal. "You've taken that out on your own? Impressive." he added as Danny rubbed at his head, blinking up at the android blearily, "With the Black Quartz gone, my sensor systems can rebuild themselves without interference. What happened to Zelos?"

"Disappeared when I broke the crystal. He tried to use it to cast _Divine Judgment_, which is kind of a bust now that I think about it. Dark mana to fuel a Light spell, he~llo? How stupid was he?" Danny returned, standing somewhat unsteadily on his own despite Jazz's concerned expression and spotting Sam in the teacher's arms, "Sam? What happened to Sam?" His voice nearly cracked, hands flying up to dig through his hair in a panic. "Is she okay? Caleb, what the heck happened?"

"**She** did." Caleb growled, tilting his head to point out the hovering Trial monster hovering over them all. The Enraged gave another shriek down at them, eyes blazing red over the massive mandibles.

"Sorry. Don't speak Freak." Valerie growled in answer, hoisting up her ecto-rifle again, "But I bet you'll be able to understand what **this** means!" She fired a barrage of blasts that impacted The Enraged, the monster jerking about in the air with a screech of anger. The creature would have been knocked out of the air, but she dug her talons into the metal of her hover board and stayed airborne. Annoyed, Valerie lowered her altitude until she was floating by the rest of the team, Tucker jumping off to try calming Danny down. "Now what? She's in the air and half of us can't touch her if she stays up there!" she complained.

"Well, then we have to get her down here." Caleb sighed, rolling his eyes before returning his attentions to the still unconscious Goth, "Sam can't fight anyway, and I'm one percentage point away from an Over-Limit Mode." He tapped a fingertip against his mouth in thought before shaking his head. "And considering Nebilim's trap corrupted a majority of my inner systems for mana cycling, I'm not sure which Mode I could trigger first. Normally, I start as Chosen and shift to the alternates depending on certain requirements, but now it's anyone's... _Guardian!_"

The android threw his hand up in alarm, bringing up the shield just as The Enraged dived at the group now tightly huddled under the bubble of mana.

"Hey! People are **talking**!" Valerie snapped, flying out of the protective bubble and firing back at the creature.

"Val! Got your back!" Tucker blurted out, dashing out as well and firing the Lens gun into the air, a spray of yellow bursts that had only half of them make contact with the Trial, "Jazz! We could use some help here!"

"Coming!" the carrot-top called back and gave her brother another shake by the shoulders, "Pull yourself together, Danny! She's okay! Caleb's gonna stay with her and keep her safe; you and I have to help Valerie beat that Trial!"

"But she's... she's...!" Danny stammered, eyes almost wild as he gestured erratically at the silent girl.

"She's resting!" Caleb told him firmly, dropping the shield after another moment, "Just keep the Trial away from the two of us until she comes around, and we'll be able to join you then."

"You sure she's okay?" the halfa asked and Caleb only gazed steadily back at him, impassive expression on his face.

"Do you trust me or not?" he returned flatly and Danny sighed, holding up his hands for peace.

"Okay, okay! Don't bite my head off. Just... be careful. Okay?" he muttered and hunched his shoulders, shutting his eyes reflexively before cracking one open at the feel of the android rubbing the top of his head and mussing his hair.

"Raven, I've been fighting monsters and all sorts of things on the side of evil since the days of Symphonia." Caleb pointed out patiently, "We'll be _fine_. Now go be backup before The Enraged paints this level with your friends."

"Going...!" Danny yelped, flying off and firing the Ghost Ray after The Enraged, causing it to shriek even louder in fury. Jazz jumped and ran after him, demanding that he wait for her to come help.

Now that the teens were gone, Caleb set to work on another quick dish, setting Sam down on the now glassy floor of the Trial level platform in order to swing his satchel around and dig through it for ingredients. The sooner he could get Sam back on her feet and able to move, the sooner the two of them could get into the battle and finish it quickly.

* * *

Valerie was confused.

She didn't let it show on her face, even though it was hidden behind the dark plating on her mask, but she was very much confused by her Trial. It was grotesque and gross and every bit the monster a Trial should be. But why was the Trial for her like that? Jazz and Sam and Tucker... their Trial selves still looked a lot like them, so why did hers turn into this creepy spider-demon-thing?

The Enraged fired a stream of energy from the board that cut through the air and swept downwards, burning a trail across the platform that Tucker and Jazz managed to avoid by diving to the sides, rolling back to their feet and dashing off again, pelting the Trial with more shots. She shrieked again, long arms raised and shaking in fury before turning and swiping at the air, knocking Danny Phantom for a loop by catching him just as he was angling in for a blind side punch.

Valerie just found it confusing, but a Trial was a Trial and if everyone else had been able to beat theirs, then she should be able to take hers out, no problem.

Well, not quite so easily, considering how it was flying about in the air as maneuverable as Valerie herself.

"Will you just blow up already, or something? We can't waste Soulfire taking potshots at your ugly face!" the huntress yelled after the Trial, ecto-rifle firing after it rapidly.

_"It doesn't matter what your Soulfire is. All I care about is my revenge!"_ The Enraged shrieked, flying around the bursts of green-white and lashing out with one massive arm, knocking the rifle out of Valerie's hands. _"I want this world purged of anything that is not pure human! All those vermin that aid the non-humans are nothing but filthy traitors that must be exterminated!"_

"You were gonna attack the White House! Are you out of your **mind**?" Valerie shrieked back, scrabbling for another ecto-gun to fire at the Trial, "The President? You're calling the freakin' _President_ a traitor? Why?"

The Enraged only screeched again, throwing her head back with an infuriated howl as a crossfire of Jazz's arm-cannon and Tucker's Lens gun hit her dead on, shaking the monster in place until she broke out of the attack and slammed her clawed hands against the top of her hover board. Small missiles launched from the underside of the board, flitting through the air to hit both the carrot-top and the techno-geek.

Danny Phantom landed quickly between them, holding up his hands to create a dome of ectoplasm over his sister and friend to protect them. Valerie watched for her own chance and took it when The Enraged rushed down to slam her board against the Ghost Shield in a fury. Flying down after the Trial, the huntress opened fire with her ecto-gun, blasting her in the back a few times before The Enraged bellowed and rose out of the way quickly.

"Hey! I asked you a question! If you're gonna be my Trial and talk a lotta smack, then do it to **my** face!" Valerie snapped after it, leaning on her board to bank to the side and rise after The Enraged.

_"You've sided with the vermin; you've betrayed the path of a **true** hero!"_ the Trial snarled, firing several more missiles that screamed through the air, weaving around madly before slamming into the platform. Clouds of dust and smoke and hot fragments exploded out from them, sending the members of Team Phantom tumbling about almost helplessly when Danny's Ghost Shield went down to allow them movement again. Valerie cried in alarm, seeing Jazz and Tucker hit the platform hard upon landing. Danny Phantom recovered more easily, halting in the air and diving down to check on his friends.

"What you were planning isn't anything like what a real hero does!" the young huntress declared, furious with how her Trial seemed to care nothing for the teens she had just blasted, "You treated those people out there like they were just animals! And then you tried to twist me into being just like you! That's not being a hero; that's being a **monster**!" The Enraged only laughed, a cruel and mocking sound that sounded horrendous coming from the creature.

_"Amusing. That's just what Damon Gray said before he died."_ she purred, chuckling at Valerie freezing up and staring wide-eyed at the Trial, _"He was another traitor to humanity, demanding I stop following the path I chose to purify the world."_

"Daddy?" Valerie mumbled, feeling a cold dread creeping over her, "What happened to Daddy?" The Enraged chuckled again, one hand moving to clink black claws against the glass that remained in the ruined frames hanging around her neck.

_"The same fate that befalls all traitors; I gunned him down without mercy. Did I not teach you to never listen to the pleas of those who claim to be innocent?"_ the Trial returned darkly, summoning another pair of rockets into place and aiming right for Valerie. The girl only stood there, numb with shock and horror at the revelation.

"You... you killed Daddy?" she echoed hollowly.

_"Ask him about it yourself."_ The Enraged growled, slamming her claws against the top of the board again. The rockets launched, shooting right for Valerie as Danny yelled for her to move, taking to the air and launching a blast of the Ghost Ray in an attempt to destroy the missiles first.

_"Holy wings, I beg of thee to reveal thy glory. Angel Feathers!"_ Caleb's voice declared, multiple rings of glowing pink white light and trailing delicate white feathers suddenly cut across the air, slicing between Valerie and the incoming rockets and detonating them early. The shockwave sent the huntress tumbling through the air, gripping onto her board before it leveled and allowed her to flop down on it in a sitting position, still dazed by both The Enraged's words and that blast.

Danny blinked in surprise, then turned his head to catch sight of the android standing there with a determined glare, wings flared outward and Wonder Fork pointed where the rockets had been. Beside him, Sam stood in irritation, one fist resting on her hip with the mythril knife held tight, a cup of something in her other hand. She was drinking from it, and drained the rest of whatever was in there before tossing the cup back to Caleb, who caught it and stuffed it into his satchel.

"Right. Now **I'm** the one who's pissed off!" the Goth growled loudly enough for everyone to hear and swept her arm with a flourish to point at the Trial monster, "Caleb, angel spells and lay 'em on thick! We're taking that thing down!"

_"Root of all creation, grant us the breath of life! Revitalize!"_ Caleb called out, spinning the fork in hand before lashing it forward to point at the platform. The huge field of light, swirled with intricate patterns and runes, passed over the glass, casting the level in shadow as healing magic surged into everyone in its range. The phantom looked around quickly, then dropped down to land beside his fallen friend and sister as he tilted his head, waiting.

"We've gotta figure out how to put a patent on that." Tucker groaned as he sat up and rubbed his head, "It takes care of _everything_. Even gas." He burped loudly just then, and Danny jumped at the sound before turning to glare down at him in exasperation. Tucker only looked surprised. "Wow. How long has that been stuck in there?" he questioned as Jazz pushed herself up from the platform and shook her head.

"At least say 'excuse me'." she lectured the techno-geek before climbing to her feet and looking around, "Oh! Caleb and Sam are back!"

"Now, power up!" Sam declared, "Danny, Valerie! Once you've been boosted, hit that thing with everything you've got! As long as that monster's in the air, we can't lay into it!" Danny nodded once and took to the air a second time, more confident with the turning tide of battle and charging up another double blast of the Ghost Ray.

_"Thy faithful servant asketh for thy blessing. Honor us with the splendor of thy song."_ Caleb recited, spinning the fork before himself then suddenly lifting it to point straight up over his head, _"Holy Song!"_ A ring of white light spread out from the android, growing in size rapidly as it passed over the platform with the faintest of whispers. The same delicate white feathers that had trailed the rings of Caleb's earlier attack now drifted from each of the teenagers, and Danny fired his blasts just as Valerie recovered her fallen ecto-rifle and launched a barrage of shots at the Trial monster.

The Enraged shrieked under the angel-powered assault, writhing in pain and fury. From below, Tucker and Jazz lifted their own weapons and fired up at the Trial as well, a large beam of crackling white from the Fenton Peeler and the quick, needle-like lance bursts of yellow from the Lens gun slamming into it. The additional strength granted by the angel spell looked to be dealing additional damage, as the creature shrieked even louder, curling in on itself to try blocking some of the hits.

"Again, Caleb! Let's see some more angel magic!" Sam shouted, waving her arms excitedly, a darkly gleeful look on her face as things looked to be going their way in the battle, "That thing's going down!"

"It's called The Enraged, Sam, and Valerie's the one who has to make the deciding blow." Caleb sighed in exasperation, "Oh, never mind. As long as you're up and active, that's all that counts, right?" He held the fork forward, one palm pressed flat against it as he considered the next spell. "It's got a long casting time, but this one should pack enough of a punch to bring her down. Here goes!" he remarked and closed his eyes to focus, a circle of light blooming at his feet again.

_"No! NO! This won't be how you defeat me!"_ The Enraged howled, thrashing in place, eyes flashing with such hatred that even Valerie shrank back from it, faltering at the trigger.

"Valerie! Don't back down from it! You have to face against the Trial! Beat your sin!" Danny called out to her, keeping his own stream of ectoplasmic power trained on The Enraged, "You've got to stand against all that rage that was inside you!"

But seeing the Trial shriek and rage like that, directing all the anger at everyone around herself, it only made her seem all the more powerful to the young huntress. Valerie swallowed hard, feeling the faint edges of panic starting to creep into her mind. This thing killed her father and felt nothing; it slaughtered thousands, millions of innocent people and felt nothing; it laughed at the death of Danny Phantom and would have gleefully done the same to Danny Fenton if it had the chance. What could she do against something that had such potent hate and rage towards the whole world like that? Could it have something to do with the reason why The Enraged looked like a beast compared to the Trials of the rest of the team?

She tried to attack again, tried to get her mind back into focus -where was that black belt training now, darn it?-, but The Enraged shrieked again and she faltered. Valerie needed her strength back, the force of will she had before, her drive. Otherwise, this thing was going to beat them. She took a deep breath, gritting her teeth as she racked her brain for a new focus.

The Enraged told her that she killed Damon Gray. Just shot him without any mercy, without even listening to him. Valerie concentrated on that, feeling hot tears well in her eyes as anger surged through her. Her dad, her only family left, the man that took care of her, stood by her, was always proud of her, and that **thing** took him away, and didn't care at all!

Valerie focused on that thought, and a new surge of anger and hatred flared through her, all directed at the Trial.

"Wh-what's happening?" Jazz suddenly exclaimed in alarm as the Trial monster seemed to swell in size, growing larger as the hover board it rode on expanded, grew more weapons and looked much deadlier than before. Curving spikes emerged from the dark red creature, spreading out from its back and glinting malevolently. Black webbing stretched between them, and they extended outward like demonic wings. The swirled pattern on The Enraged's flesh shifted again, spreading out until its body was more black than red, and now none of the blasts hitting it seemed to be doing anything.

"Valerie! What did you do?" Tucker shouted up in horror as Danny dropped his attack to just stare at it, a frightened expression on his own face once he realized that the thing had just become stronger.

_"Aahhhh, I reap that which you have sown!"_ The Enraged hissed through its mandibles, sounding nothing at all like Dame Gray now, _"With this, I'll fulfill Lord Nebilim's command, and destroy the Fallen Angel bearing the Soul Stone!"_

"She's gotten stronger!" Sam realized and ran forward, racing to join Jazz and Tucker, "Guys! The Enraged is just like The Weak! It's feeding on Valerie's sin!" Jazz's eyes widened as she shifted her gaze to the young huntress, who now had a wispy red aura flickering over her body.

"Of course! Power that reflects what's in the heart! Valerie knows that her sin is rage and it gave her Trial the power to do all this. She must have redirected her rage away from ghosts and Danny, and focused it all on The Enraged in order to give herself the power to face it down!" the carrot-top cried in alarm, "But she's going at this all wrong! Rage and hate leads to more rage and hate; it's only going to cycle around and around between them! The stronger the Trial gets, the more enraged Valerie becomes, and it'll keep going until the Soulfire dies!"

"Valerie! You can't let yourself be blinded by rage again! Don't fight with hate! It's not gonna work!" Tucker yelled up at the girl while Sam shouted after the android.

"Caleb! It's coming after you next! _Run!_" she called out in warning as Danny snapped to attention and focused it on the redhead still in spell-casting pose.

_'He can't move. A magic-user's most vulnerable time is when they're in the middle of casting a spell! He **can't** move!'_ The thought raced through his mind as he recalled all the previous times Caleb had cast spells; every time, the teacher would have to stop and stand still for the time it took to finish the spell before he could move on again. That was probably why he tried to stay behind everyone else in battles, or stayed on the edges. Danny and his friends kept the monsters and Trials occupied so they wouldn't have the chance to attack Caleb while he was defenseless!

_"Sacred powers, cast your purifying light..."_ Caleb murmured the beginning incantation.

"Caleb! Cancel it! Move!" the halfa yelled, rushing forward to put up a Ghost Shield, "Everyone! Hit the Trial! Stall for time! Hurry!" Jazz and Valerie both started firing on The Enraged, who only laughed as it fired another set of rockets, sending them whistling through the air.

"Tucker! Damage!" Sam cried, head whipping around to see the technophile hold out the PDA with wide eyes.

"He's only one percent away, Sam." he whispered, "Even if those miss, the shock will push him over."

_"...upon these corrupt souls."_ Caleb continued and opened his eyes, _"Rest in..."_ He trailed into silence at the sight of The Enraged's missiles flying straight for him, Danny Phantom racing to beat them to his side, then gave the half-ghost a helpless little smile. "Can't be helped. I took too long." he murmured and shut his eyes again, bracing for the inevitable.

The multiple explosions of the rockets hitting was incredible, and the teens on the ground braced themselves in order to remain standing against the rush of the shockwave passing over them. Both Valerie and The Enraged were shoved backwards from the blast, the assault being made on the Trial halting abruptly from that alone. Danny tumbled backwards from the explosions, hitting the platform and rolling to a stop in a pained daze, half-blinded by the blast. A massive cloud of smoke and dust swallowed half the platform, and there was a deathly silence that was broken only by The Enraged's triumphant laughter.

_"Lord Nebilim! The Angel has truly fallen! Nothing stands in the way of your conquest now! The host body is yours to claim!"_ it cried out.

Sam coughed into one fist, swaying unsteadily as she tried to find her voice again. "T-Tucker!" she croaked, picking her way to the other boy as she followed the sound of his PDA beeping warningly, "D-Damage! How bad is it? Is Caleb okay?" The smoke began clearing up, just a little, but she was able to make out Tucker staring down at the screen, its glow playing over the features of his face. "Tucker!"

"Seventy-five percent." Tucker replied quietly, "He's in an Over-Limit Mode; his spell list has changed, there's a new Special Arte active, and I just checked his statistics. Caleb's completely changed combat styles, and even his clothes changed to adapt to it."

"Wh-what?" Jazz stammered, stumbling to join them. Tucker angled the PDA to show them both the screen.

The little image of Caleb remained in place, now surrounded by a red aura, and below it was a large caption box that flashed the words 'Avenger Mode Active' and 'Critical' in alternating sequence. Beneath that was a timer, and it was rapidly counting down from five minutes. Sam and Jazz blinked at it, confused.

"What the-?" the Goth began and all three teens jerked at hearing the android call out from the depths of the smoke cloud.

"I apologize, but your assessment of my demise seems to contain a gross error that must be corrected." Caleb remarked coldly. Bursts of white flared out and flapped rapidly, clearing away the rest of the haze to reveal the redhead standing on the platform and looking relatively untouched by the blasts. Sam whistled at the sight, looking between the PDA and the android several times.

"You weren't kidding. That's what I'm gonna picture in my head anytime someone mentions 'avenging angel' in front of me from now on." she agreed.

Gone was the familiar green and white servant's outfit that was so familiar and comforting; Caleb wore in its place a sort of heavy black armor, metal plating and mesh wrapping most of his body in place of the silk and cotton. The material shone, faint glints of light sparkling from the magitech and mythril threads that ran through the weave. Even his boots seemed to have undergone a change, covered in metal and appearing far sturdier than the former, almost dainty, white and green pair he'd worn before. The wings flaring from his back was of the pure white mana of the Light Element instead of the usual red, which seemed to now be forming the strangely translucent sword in his hand. The blade was unusually long, which puzzled the teens even more.

"Funny, that's the hand he was holding the Wonder Fork in." Sam muttered to herself, "Does the Over-Limit Mode also affect that?"

"Guys... doesn't he look... strange?" Jazz questioned warily, "How often have we seen Caleb mad?"

"A lot?" Tucker supplied with one eyebrow raised, "Does him getting frustrated a lot count though?" Jazz shook her head. "Then... maybe twice?"

"I think we're about to see him when he's **really** mad." she groaned softly, "Oh, this isn't going to go well for stopping something based on rage..."

_"If that little vermin hadn't destroyed the Black Quartz before Zelos could finish destroying your inner systems, you would be dead by now!"_ The Enraged snarled, lashing towards him with one clawed hand before shrieking in new pain and fury at the barrage of blasts from Valerie's ecto-rifle. Enough of the smoke had dissipated to let the young huntress see again, and she immediately returned to her assault on the Trial.

"Then allow me to rectify that error, and replace my name with yours!" Caleb hissed, shooting up into the air far faster than his usual speed and lashing at the Trial with the transformed fork, _"Raining Tiger Blade!"_

"This is for what you did to all those innocent people and my father!" Valerie added in a fury, pressing on with her attack.

"Stop it! That's not going to work, you two!" Jazz screamed up at them, hands to her head in frustration, "You can't defeat rage with more rage!"

"I can't get through to Caleb; he's locked down the communications and I don't know what that timer means either!" Tucker exclaimed as Sam growled, one hand rubbing her head furiously enough to muss her own hair.

"Augh! This whole thing's going to hell before we can get past it!" she griped, glaring up at the enraged huntress and angel attacking the Trial mercilessly, "If we can't get through to them that Valerie's anger is screwing this all up, we're going to lose!"


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: Still offline. Uploading at Starbucks. Have seen Shining Bind as done by other charas, decided to change it up for Caleb's version. Hope it doesn't disappoint!

* * *

28

Danny growled to himself as his head pounded. He seemed to be getting more and more abused by this level than in any other. Although, considering the fact that it **is** Valerie's level, he supposed that it should have been expected. Still, that didn't mean he'd have to like it, or just roll over and let the punches have at him.

"Stupid Trials and stupid Book of the Underworld making it hard to reach the stupid center... blaming it all on Nebilim." he grumbled as he pushed himself up and shook his head to try clearing the last of the ringing sounds from his ears. How was the battle going now? The teen scanned the area quickly, spotting Sam, Tucker and Jazz standing in a cluster and calling up at the air. Okay, that didn't seem too good. Danny followed the direction of their collective gaze and looked up as well, cringing at the sight of both Valerie and Caleb laying into The Enraged like it was their one goal in life to beat the stuffing out of it.

Huh, white wings. Caleb didn't normally have that color for his wings.

"Ah, crud. Over-Limit Mode." Danny griped, getting to his feet and stretching back to pop a few kinks out of his spine. Okay, so he wasn't able to stop the rockets in time to prevent that. What more could go wrong? At least this way, those two would bring down the Trial and the rest of the team could attack it more easily, right?

_"I'm afraid that it doesn't work that way."_ a soft voice murmured in his head and Danny clapped his hands over his ears, eyes widening in surprise before narrowing in irritation.

"Now's not a good time, Nebilim; mind screw later, dealing with angry people now." he complained.

_"I leave you a small hint to get through this, since Nebilim has managed to bend both the Trial-Taker and Caleb to following his desires. Rage and hatred breeds more of the same, but it all falls to nothing when the sinner is redeemed."_ the voice pointed out and faded, and Danny had the faintest suspicion that he should have recognized that voice.

"What **is** it with people wanting to talk into my head and not to my face?" he griped, pushing off to fly to his friends and catch up on what was going on, "Hey! What's happened? One minute I'm trying to stop a bunch of missiles, the next minute, we're all wasting Soulfire standing around and pointing at things!"

"Do you need a recap **every** time you fall out of the sky?" Sam countered in irritation, "Long story short; Valerie's mad as hell, Caleb's got the emotional understanding of a chunk of wood, and The Enraged is practically loving every minute of it." She jerked a thumb upwards at the frenzy of fighting overhead. "As long as those two fight with rage, we're not ever gonna beat that Trial, and Valerie's too stubborn to get the idea that you're not supposed to give a Trial what it wants to win." she added. Danny blinked at her, then took on a considering look, rubbing one finger against his chin as he reflected on the hint he'd been given.

"Huh. Rage and hate breeds more of the same, but it all falls to nothing if the sinner is redeemed. We can't fight with rage, but how do we get Valerie to redeem herself to beat that thing?" he muttered. His friends gave him puzzled expressions and he shook his head, "It's something that came to mind while I was out there. To beat rage, the sinner must be redeemed. This is Valerie's Trial, right? So wouldn't that mean that she has to be redeemed in order to defeat rage?"

The massive hover board The Enraged had flown on suddenly slammed into the platform nearby, smashing into several chunks and fragments and startling the group into running to avoid more debris. Danny looked overhead again, trying to measure out how the battle was going. Valerie was running through every last bit of weaponry she had on hand, and Caleb kept flitting back and forth at full speed, leaving trails of light as he sliced into the Trial with the red blade he was carrying.

"You can't exactly redeem someone who won't listen to a word you're saying!" Sam pointed out between huffs for air, "Besides, according to Valerie, all the crud she went through had been **your** fault, and that's why she was so ticked at you. She gets the idea now that she shouldn't be mad, but she's still hanging on to rage and hatred like it's the only thing that gives her any meaning!"

"Then in this case, the sinner isn't Valerie!" Jazz declared and pointed at her brother, "It's Danny! Danny has to be redeemed by Valerie in order to have all that rage and hate go away."

"You're not thinking of having her nail me to some wood, are you? Because I'm pretty sure that's not how it's gonna work in our case." the halfa returned uncertainly, holding up his hands and backing away from them.

"Better find something we can use in that clue. Caleb's timer is down to four minutes, and from the looks of this Special Arte gauge, he's gearing up for something pretty nasty." Tucker pointed out, stylus in hand as he tapped at the options on his PDA screen with a worried look.

"Can't be worse than _Incineration_." Sam murmured dubiously, "He's got a giant fork that hurls out nuclear bomb-like spells. What more can he dish out that can top that?"

"According to the list... something called _Shining Bind_?" the techno-geek returned, "At least, that's the active one. Each Mode has its own Special Arte, but it looks like he can't use it until he's built up a gauge for it." He looked up from the screen and gave Danny a more serious expression. "Based on the attacks he's been using up there, and the way the gauge is filling up here, it looks like he builds up power for the Arte by landing hits on the Trial. At his speed, Caleb should have the power for at least one blast of that _Shining Bind _thing before the timer runs out."

"Okay, that's it. Huddle." Danny growled and the four teens bent together to pow-wow over things. "Here's our situation as I see it. We're running out of time to finish off The Enraged before we waste so much Soulfire, there's not gonna be anywhere near enough to light the Altar. Valerie and Caleb are hitting it at full power, but they're both using rage or something to attack and that's making things worse. Valerie needs to redeem me in order to defeat her rage, and Caleb's only got four minutes left before something happens during this Mode he's in." he rattled off quickly, "We don't know what that could be, a Mode change, a temporary shutdown, the launch of some doomsday spell he's been holding out, whatever! We **do** know that he's prepping for his Special Arte. Now, we know that we have to get Valerie to snap out of it and listen to us so she knows what to do next."

Overhead, the Trial shrieked in pain and fury, demonic wings fanned to keep it airborne as it clawed after Valerie, the girl dodging the attacks and retaliating by smashing the ecto-rifle against its head. Caleb spun into it from behind, holding the sword before himself so that his movement blurred both winged android and blade into a red, black and white disc.

_"Tempest!"_

The gauge on the PDA rose a bit higher, a line of red that grew beneath the spell name listed in the tab. Sam glanced at Tucker, then nodded grimly at Danny, who sighed harshly and thought things through quickly again.

"As long as those three are in the air, you guys can't do much to help. I'll grab Valerie and bring her down here. Jazz, I want you to talk sense into her. Sam, you help her out. Get her to realize that holding rage against the Trial isn't the way to beat it. She's gotta let it go, no matter what that thing did." he plotted out and the two girls nodded in synch, "Next, dealing with Caleb. Tucker, what's his damage?"

"Seventy-five, and I think the caption here means that he's in critical damage." the technophile returned, tapping at the screen again, "Back in Welgaia, he had a lot of physical damages. Even though that looked pretty bad, he didn't seem that worried about it."

"Well, I think I see why." Sam remarked dryly, "Even though a lot of his body was smashed up, his soul was still attached because there was mana running through it."

"And this time, most of that damage is to his internal systems. Nebilim was trying to trash the thing that holds his soul to his body, and on top of that he's been thrown around by Dame Gray's weapons." Tucker agreed, "So that's energy system and physical damage put together. How much you wanna bet this Critical sign means he's close to losing his soul? We don't know what's the limit of damage that he can take before that happens." He blinked as Danny reached out and tapped on the screen to get his attention.

"I meant the Special Arte. Caleb's Over-Limit is triggered by different things, and this one's Avenger Mode, which activates when his precious treasures are threatened or stolen or whatever. In this case, that's us. I think." the halfa pointed out, "What I'm worried about is the Arte he's planning to use. Do we let him haul it out, or do we snap him out of it before he blasts The Enraged with something that might make it stronger?"

"_Shining Bind_ sounds like a binding spell, like something meant to hold an enemy in place." Sam pointed out, "I vote for letting him use it."

"He's taken some bad damage. Using spells makes him stand still and turns him into a sitting duck. He uses that, and it's like asking Caleb to get torn to bits." Tucker grumbled, "I vote for snapping him out of it."

"Majority rules! I say, no _Shining Bind_!" Danny declared as Jazz whined that she didn't get a chance to vote. He shook his head, throwing his hands up, "Okay! Break! Jazz, Sam! Get ready for Valerie to come down here in a **real** bad mood! Tucker, crack open that spell list! See if you can interrupt Caleb's attacks remotely; waste time until I can get him out of the Over-Limit!" With that, he shot off into the air, Ghost Rays lancing through the air and hitting both The Enraged and cutting off Caleb from pressing his own attacks.

"Hey! Ghost Kid! BACK OFF!" Valerie snarled suddenly, flying in and swinging a fist at him. Danny scrambled back from her, bending backwards to avoid the hit, then flipping over in time to see Caleb shoot in and slam a shoulder into the Red Huntress, sending her flying off the board as a strange afterimage of a lion's head floated before him.

The halfa froze, eyes wide with alarm. Caleb attacked Valerie? Caleb **attacked** Valerie? _Valerie?_ She was in the 'party'! Why would Caleb's attacks hit someone in the party? His mouth dropped open as the board immediately took off to rescue Valerie, the girl dropping onto it safely.

He didn't have another moment to think on it; the android grabbed his arm and shoved him behind himself, and Danny blinked again at seeing the white wings in place of red.

"You shouldn't be here. You no longer have White Quartz embedded in your armlets and further attacks on the Trial will be ineffectual." Caleb told him icily, "Get out of battle and wait for me."

"I gotta get Valerie to Jazz first." Danny shot back, "How did you hit her? Why? She's one of my friends, remember?"

The android gave no response to that, only moved forward suddenly, a blur of black and white and red that lashed into The Enraged with multiple thrust attacks, _"Sword Rain Alpha!"_ Danny gaped after him, shocked. No answer? None at all? Whatever happened to sharing info with his new little buddy as part of that friendship pact or whatever?

_'Oh man... the more I see what Avenger Mode does to him, the more it seems like a good idea to just shut off the whole Over-Limit thing entirely!'_ Danny groaned mentally, flying off to join Valerie's side. "Valerie! Come with me! Jazz and Sam need to plan something out with you!"

"Not until I rip that monster and that angel a new one each!" the huntress snarled, grabbing several bladed discs from her belt to throw. Danny threw his hands up in the air with an aggravated yell before grabbing her by the waist and throwing her over one shoulder.

"Now is NOT the time for more venting!" he shouted, and streaked down through the level's airspace towards Jazz and Sam, the huntress shrieking in a fury the whole way. Danny dumped her into their waiting arms and gave the girls a serious look. "Avenger Mode's a lot more whacked out than we thought. Caleb's bent on attacking anything and anyone, even the rest of us!" he exclaimed, "I thought we'd be protected from his attacks because we're in a party, but this mode cancels that out or something!"

"We noticed. He sent Valerie flying just because of a _swipe_. I didn't know whether to freak out myself or laugh my butt off." Sam returned dryly, helping Jazz try to keep Valerie held down despite her struggles and demands to be let back into battle.

"Get her calm and let her know what's up." Danny told Jazz and took back to the air, yelling towards the third ground-bound member of the team, "Tucker! Time and damage!"

"Systems damage is starting to reverse! He's doing internal repairs; seventy-two percent!" the techno-geek shouted back, tapping at various options and menus, "Special Arte gauge at fifty-eight percent, three minutes and fifteen seconds till something happens! Still not getting through to him, he's blocking communications **to** his systems but not from!"

_"Fallen Angel, let rage fill your heart like it once filled your soul."_ The Enraged purred, dodging one of the android's attacks and floating back out of reach, _"These inferior beings are nothing more than cattle for the slaughter. Remember? Remember how you sent billions to die for your goal?"_

"This is not **my** Trial." Caleb returned flatly, flaring his wings and descending to the ground as a circle of light bloomed beneath him, _"Demonic swords, doom thy prey to everlasting pain."_ He held the sword forward, then lifted it to point at The Enraged, _"Bloody Lance!"_

Blood red swords materialized and slammed down onto the Trial, sending it tumbling down and closer to the platform, but its wings fanned out and it managed to stay upright, roaring in pain. Danny swerved around it, eyes wide. A Dark spell? But Caleb was an _angelic_ android, and angels used Light spells! What was he doing using a Dark spell when Dark mana hurt him?

Oh, that's right. _Forsaken_ used a lot of Dark mana, didn't it?

"Danny! That spell set him back in damage! Don't let him cast Dark spells; that's probably why his wings are white!" Tucker yelled up at him, "He's venting Light mana to have enough Dark to use them!"

The Enraged bellowed and threw its arms open, a massive black circle spiraling underneath it. Danny swallowed, firing several blasts at the creature in hopes of throwing it off balance and stopping the spell it was gearing up. Nothing, the ectoplasm just spattered over the Trial's body as harmlessly as water and he checked both armlets in a panic. Caleb had been right, neither of the rings of metal had any White Quartz set into the spaces.

Well, if that was the problem, then he'd just need to get more of the quartz. Danny shot down for the android, the redhead already launching back up to attack again. They met in the middle, and Danny reached out to grab the satchel from Caleb's side. Apparently, he hadn't expected that, and Caleb jerked around with a startled expression, arm tangled in the strap as Danny reached in to grab hold of the stones.

"What are you doing? Let go!" he finally found his voice again and snapped at the boy, struggling to pull himself free of the satchel. Danny struggled back, snatching a small handful of something, he wasn't sure what, before realizing that Caleb's arm was partially wrapped by the satchel's shoulder strap. He blinked at the leather band before gazing up at the android, then back down at the strap, then back again. Caleb blinked at him, looking faintly puzzled at first -which almost convinced Danny that he might have come to his senses-, then a glare took its place and the halfa threw that assumption out the window. "Don't even..." Caleb began to growl.

"Sorry! Can't let you use magic right now!" Danny exclaimed, grabbing the strap and looping it quickly over Caleb's other arm before twisting it under the satchel itself and pulling the bag through the gap, pinning the angel's arms together.

"Let me **go**!" Caleb yelled in a surge of anger, already straining the leather to tear his arms free. Danny charged up an Ice Ray and passed it over the satchel and strap, sealing it in place before pushing the android back.

"Sorry, Caleb! You're in a critical zone, don't you get it?" he snapped back and the android only seethed at him, eyes glowing vivid green as his wings flared again and he dropped quickly down to the platform. _'He's going to try breaking the ice once he's on the floor. Just great. Doesn't give me much time to... Time!'_

"Tucker! Time!" Danny yelled, opening his hand to take stock of the little white, purple and red stones that filled his palm. Not all White Quartz, okay, fine. He'll work with the other Elements as they came.

"Two minutes, forty seconds!"

* * *

"She killed my dad!" Valerie raged, struggling to get free as Jazz pinned her to the platform, sitting on the girl's stomach as she folded her arms over her chest.

"What part of 'this was only a Trial' don't you get?" Sam declared, throwing her hands up, "It's all fake! This whole level was designed to use your memories and dreams and fears and nightmares against you and you're letting it win!"

"By trying to get revenge the way you have, you're only falling back into the same path that your sin carved out. Rage and hate breeds only more of the same." Jazz lectured firmly and reached down to grip the younger girl by the shoulders, "You **have** to let go of that blind hatred and rage, even when it seems like everything was taken away from you. Your dad is still alive in our world, and Danny Phantom never meant to hurt you. He's like you, a young hero who is still trying to find his place in the world. He makes mistakes and he tries to make up for them, but you won't let him!"

"He ruined my life!" Valerie screamed, twisting in place and kicking futilely. "I lost my friends and everything I knew went down the toilet because of him!"

"You just admitted a bit ago that you weren't doing anything special with the life you had before that ghost dog messed it up!" Sam pointed out, "Admitting your sin isn't the same as defeating it! You have to change yourself in order to overcome it!"

"That's not _fair_!" Valerie wailed, laying still at last. She wanted to be angry, **needed** to be angry. It kept her from feeling so helpless against things she couldn't control. It was out of her hands when the ghosts wrecked Axiom Labs and cost her father his job, and there was nothing she could do about the fact that this level's version of herself killed her father in the name of her twisted idea of how to save the world. If she couldn't keep her anger about those things, then what was she supposed to feel? She sobbed, lifting hands to her face once Jazz climbed off and helped her sit up.

"There, there. It's okay. It's normal to feel angry when you believe that someone did something to you that was cruel or mean or unfair." the carrot-top soothed, "It's perfectly fine. But you can't go through life holding onto that anger; it won't get you anywhere and all it will do is twist your heart up into something bitter and hurtful." She hugged the huntress, who kept sobbing into her hands, and looked up at Sam expectantly. The Goth lifted an eyebrow, then sighed and reached out to pat Valerie on the back.

"The stories in the textbooks talked about stuff like this, about anger and hating people and doing hurtful things while calling it justice." she began uncertainly, "But I think Colette was onto something when she said that things can be made over if you forgive the people that did you wrong. Maybe that's what you're supposed to do in order to really beat your sin of rage." She shrugged when Valerie lifted her head to stare at her in disbelief, her hood still hiding her expression but the way she held herself just radiated her emotions. "Maybe you need to learn that forgiving people can give you power too." Sam muttered, "Because when you're always angry, it blinds you to people using your anger to give themselves power. Like The Enraged is using your anger to make itself stronger; that's why it told you what it did to Damon Gray. It wanted you to be angry to feed itself. But if you forgive and let go of that anger, then there's nothing anyone can use against you to make you do their work for them."

Valerie kept staring at her, listening to her words, _really_ listening. And it made sense, she knew it did and she didn't want to admit it did, but it made perfect sense. Thinking back to all those times she had been angry in the town of Damon-Gray, she had ignored their words and followed Dame Gray blindly, because her goals set while angry matched the goals Dame Gray had, up until she saw what they really were. How many other people might have used her while she was angry? While she was charging blindly ahead in her rage, paving a path of destruction that others reaped all kinds of rewards from, while she hurt and bled and suffered for nothing?

She jerked her head up at the sound of something like glass breaking, saw Caleb nearby smashing his arms against the platform and shaking ice free from them before sliding his satchel off and snatching up the Wonder Fork from the floor. Her eyes widened at the sight of red-colored mana spiraling over it in a shimmering wave, transforming the fork into the translucent glowing sword it had been before. The angel held it forward, a circle of light blooming beneath him as he started casting another spell.

"Learn to forgive them..." Valerie whispered to herself, eyes rising to find Danny Phantom duking it out with The Enraged, firing the Ghost Ray over and over at it in an attempt to bring it down to the platform and throw it out of its own spell-casting.

_"Be consumed by shadows. Dark Sphere!"_ Caleb murmured, lifting the red sword to point at The Enraged, unleashing yet another Dark spell that had black-colored mana explode outward from the creature savagely. There was the faint tone of warning in the back of his mind, an alarm of some sort that he disabled to focus on his next incantation._"Enhance this blade's might. Sharpness!"_ he declared, lashing the sword aside as a new sheen of iridescent color washed over it. Properly strengthened by the spell, the android took to the sky again, racing for the disoriented Trial and moving into another rapid spin that made him appear more like a red and black disc cutting into the creature again, _"Raging Tempest!"_

"Tucker! TIME!" Danny yelled, firing a double blast to knock The Enraged out of Caleb's path.

"Two minutes, ten seconds! Arte gauge is at seventy-one percent!" Tucker called back up, shifting nervously on his feet as he waited for the Trial monster to finally fall to the platform and grant the rest of the team a chance to attack it. If they were on it, maybe Caleb would back off and switch out of the Over-Limit Mode.

Valerie watched a bit longer, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her father, her **real** father, was still alive outside of the Book. He was there, waiting for her, worrying over her, and she knew he'd be angry with her once he learned where she was and what she'd been doing, but she also knew that he would forgive her. They were family, they loved each other, and Damon Gray knew that what Valerie was doing was to help others, and so he was proud of her even when he was annoyed or angry or frustrated with her. He didn't let it blind him, and what kind of daughter would she be if she couldn't do the same as her father?

_"Demonic Tiger Blade!"_ Blades of air pressure followed by the red mana sword itself cut into The Enraged, and Caleb ignored the shrieks of anger and pain from the monster as easily as he ignored the yells from the halfa behind him to stop attacking. At least, up until he felt the blast of ectomana hit the back of his left shoulder. He froze for a moment, surprised, then set his face into a dark glare as he turned to focus his attention on the teen phantom floating behind him.

Danny hovered there, open hand still smoking slightly from the blast, a mix of alarm and horror on his own face, equally stunned by his own actions. He slowly lowered his arm, swallowing hard at the android's glare focused entirely on him.

"What were you-?" Caleb began to growl in irritation before suddenly uttering a scream of pain, a black spike shooting right through his injured shoulder to spear him cleanly from behind. The white wing flickered rapidly, then went out, leaving the other to flap madly in an effort to keep the android from dropping out of the air. Danny cried out in horror, looking past him at The Enraged floating behind Caleb, open hand thrust forward in a cruel mockery of Danny's previous pose. The shining black spike had fired from her own palm, extending out from her body to pierce through the armor and mesh Caleb wore and drive straight through his body.

_"He must have been helping me get rid of you, Fallen Angel. Didn't Lord Nebilim tell you that you would be betrayed by those you thought could be your friends?"_ the Trial laughed derisively and turned her hand, twisting the spike in the android's shoulder. Caleb screamed again, and Danny rushed to fire the Ghost Ray on The Enraged again, forcing it to retract the spike and dodge his own attacks.

"Get out of the battle! You can't fight like that!" he cried over his shoulder at the angel. Caleb gasped in pain, the ruined wing spurting out mana in a desperate attempt to slow and steady his descent to the platform.

"Danny! Damages inflicted to him also build up the gauge!" Tucker called out after the half-ghost, "That shot you gave him, and the attack from The Enraged... it's finished filling the gauge!"

_"**What?**"_

Caleb touched down on the glass, a circle of light blooming beneath him immediately as he held the sword forward, his injured arm hanging useless at his side. He panted softly before beginning the incantation.

_"Holy light, be the chains that bind my enemy."_ he declared, white wings flickering wildly before vanishing, shut down by both the demand for Light mana for the Special Arte and the damage from the black spike, _"Inescapable..."_

Danny kept up the barrage of Ghost Rays, firing them rapidly as The Enraged chuckled darkly and began its own descent, spilling height and gaining speed as it homed in on Caleb's form. He figured as much; the Trial had _wanted_ Caleb to build up the gauge and do the Special Arte! Leaving himself open like that would give it all the time it needed to finish off the angel, and Danny frantically attacked in an attempt to hold the creature back, stall for time until Caleb was done with the spell.

_"...insurmountable..."_

Valerie got to her feet and grabbed for another pair of ecto-guns, determination taking the place of her uncertainty and anger. This Trial wasn't going to twist her emotions against her anymore. Whatever it said wasn't to be trusted, and she couldn't rely on rage and hate. She would forgive, and she would understand, and she would think carefully before pulling the trigger on anyone, ghost or monster. The image of that angelic smile on the elder Danny Phantom's face from Tucker's Trial came back to mind, and she felt more at peace. Yes, that's why it looked so loving, that's why it had unnerved her when she first saw it. That was the look of someone who had already forgiven another for causing them pain and agony and, ultimately, death.

It really was a powerful feeling.

"As soon as Caleb knocks that down, I'm finishing it off." Valerie told the rest of Team Phantom around her, "I've had enough of all this rage. I'm fighting ghosts to protect the people I care about, and right now this Book is more of a threat than any ghost." She could feel the grins around her, expressions of acceptance and agreement. "I still don't like Danny Phantom, but I'll forgive him for how he got involved in my life turning out like this. Especially since, if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have the chance to do some **real** good for a change!"

"Well, it's a start!" Sam exclaimed and thrust her fist into the air, "Finish it off, Caleb! We want a piece of the action!"

_"...hold fast against their futile struggles!"_ Caleb declared, sweeping the blade down to his side, then up at The Enraged as it headed straight for him, _"Shining Bind!"_

A wide circle of glowing light bloomed to life under the Trial, and Danny scooted back out of its way in surprise as loops and arcs of white mana lashed out from the circle, tangling and wrapping over The Enraged while it struggled and howled in a fury, wings flapping madly to get free. Tendrils of light whipped at the monster, holding it in place as another circle of light appeared over The Enraged.

Danny's eyes widened, watching a shower of Light Element spears rain down from that second circle, pummeling the immobile Trial monster in a merciless downpour of magically created blades. **This** was _Shining Bind_? It definitely looked like the perfect high powered spell for Avenger Mode Caleb. He winced, feeling a bit of sympathy for The Enraged as the rain of Light finally ended. Apparently, the spell wasn't done. The second circle of Light magic reshaped itself into a final, massive blade, and it dropped right onto the Trial, pinning it to the platform before exploding in a blast of light. He lifted his hands, shielding his eyes as his friends and sister did the same.

When the blinding light faded, The Enraged lay sprawled on the glass, struggling to get to its feet with a snarl, while several feet away Caleb dropped to one knee and panted for air, pained expression still on his face as he let the sword fall in favor of gripping his injured shoulder. The black armor began melting away, shifting down and back into the familiar silks and cottons of his usual servant's uniform.

"Over-Limit Mode's been deactivated! Timer's been shut off!" Tucker yelled as the team raced over the glass to reach the Trial monster still clawing its way towards the angel, "Danny! It's trying to get to Caleb! Get him out of the way!"

The halfa had already seen, had already dropped down from the sky and crouched beside his friend, hands out to project a dome of ghostly energy over them both. The Enraged kept moving anyway, clawing towards them and hissing in a fury.

_"I'll kill you both, you vermin, you filth..."_ it snarled in a broken and hoarse voice, _"You don't belong in my perfect world, not when you ruin everything, destroy everything!"_

Valerie stepped in its path, very calmly lifting both hands to point the pair of ecto-guns at the Trial's head. The creature finally gave pause, inhuman eyes peering up at her with every ounce of loathing it still possessed. Surprised by her appearance, Danny could only just stare at the Red Huntress standing off against her Trial.

"The only one who doesn't belong here, is you." she told it coldly, "You've blinded me for the last time. My power is mine, and I choose to wield it for those I care about, and forgive the circumstances that led me to the path I walk now. I'm not letting rage deny me the chance to do real good in my life." And she fired the guns only once, the air filling with the last sharp shriek of fury from The Enraged before it made that odd sound that signaled it was truly defeated. She glared down at the fading creature, intent on watching every last bit of it disappear, and blinked at the broken black frames that were left on the platform.

"Danny! Caleb! Are you guys okay?" Sam exclaimed as the halfa dropped the shield to let his friends pass through. She threw her arms around him in a hug, then pulled back to look him over quickly, "You look like you're still in one piece. Man, that was insane!"

"Let me see... oh, that looks bad." Jazz commented with a sympathetic wince as she gently prodded her fingertips around the wound in Caleb's shoulder, the android uttering a muffled yelp of pain at the contact.

"Don't touch those wires together!" he hissed softly, cringing as Tucker moved in beside the carrot-top and expertly flicked the sparking wires apart with his own fingertips, "Thanks... ouch! Did you guys _have_ to keep trying to -ow!- get in my way while I'm -_ouch!_ Stop it!- in an Over-Limit Mode -ah ah owww!- like that?"

"Hold still, I'm trying to reconnect these!" Tucker grumbled, tucking one tool between his teeth as he carefully moved a series of disconnected parts and wiring back into proper position.

"Ow ow ow, no, move that one lower, ow! Don't mess with that; I'll fix it la-aaahhh!" Caleb squirmed in place, trying to pull his arm free without causing himself more pain or damage as Tucker and Jazz kept up their attempts at robotic first aid, "That _hurts_! You think it doesn't just because I'm not flesh and blood, but it _does_! _Quit it!_"

"We're fine." Danny sighed in response to Sam's earlier question, relief making him almost sag bonelessly against the Goth, but he still had enough sense to look over at Valerie, "It's her I'm worried about right now."

The huntress bent to pick up the broken glasses, straightening to gaze at the frames in her hands with an unreadable expression. They were her father's, but in this Book, these belonged to the Damon Gray of her Trial level. An innocent who fell before the rage of a daughter consumed by her sin. Valerie silently vowed to never be like that daughter, to not become the monster that her Trial had so appropriately become to show her what her rage was doing to her.

_"Hatred and rage leads to great strength, and closes the door to all else."_ a soft voice suddenly began to speak, startling most of the group as they paused to listen, turning their attentions towards Valerie, _"Forgiveness and understanding leads to great strength and leaves you open to pain. Many paths lead to strength and conviction; choose your path with care and your heart will flower in kind."_

Valerie nodded, folding the frames up and carefully tucking them into her pocket after letting her suit sweep itself back into her bracelets and shoes. Not far from them, the remnants of The Enraged's hover board faded as well, revealing the teleporter to the next level and, surprisingly, a large black torch waiting to be lit.

"Does this mean you're not going to be hunting me anymore?" Danny broke the silence with his question, head tilting as he looked almost hopeful. Valerie stiffened, then turned to give him a haughty grin.

"Oh, don't get your hopes up, Spook. Until all this is done with, I'll keep my sights set on the Trials and the monsters." she pointed out with a chuckle, "But once we're done and had time to recover, I'm back on the hunt to get you out of Amity Park." Sam bristled, face turning red with anger at her words. She opened her mouth, ready to bite the girl's head off, and halted only when Danny clapped a hand over her mouth.

"That's fair enough. I want to show you in my own way that I'm not what you think." Danny agreed with a determined grin of his own, "For now, we're all in this fight together and we're all one team. Deal?"

"Deal!" Valerie agreed and looked towards Jazz, Tucker and Caleb, "So, I guess we're gonna be here a while longer, huh? At least until you two can fix that hole in Caleb?"

"_I'll_ be fixing that, thank you very much." Caleb returned dryly and jerked as Tucker went back to maneuvering around bits of his circuitry, "_Ow!_ I said, quit it!"

"I'm interested in that torch. It could be to add to the Soulfire, as a reward for defeating the Trial or something." Jazz remarked thoughtfully and looked to the redhead, "Caleb? Is it alright if I borrowed the Sorcerer's Ring to light it?"

"Bring it back as soon as you're done. It's the only one I have." Caleb sighed morosely, lifting his hand to let the teen slip the ring from his finger. She nodded and hurried to the torch, sliding the ring onto her own finger as she searched it for the little space that held the kindling.

"What were you thinking, shooting Caleb in the back like that anyway?" Sam demanded of the halfa as the group began getting to their feet, heading towards the teleporter to set up camp and rest for a while, "I mean, I know you were trying to get him out of the fight so he wouldn't cast _Shining Bind_, but were you **so** desperate that you had to shoot him?"

"Yes, I'd like to know that too." Caleb grumbled, grabbing up the Wonder Fork and sliding it in place on his back, "I was about to ask that when The Enraged impaled me from behind. Most unpleasant thing to have happen to me since we first set foot in this Book..." Danny flinched, rubbing his neck as he sighed.

"I didn't really mean to, guys. I just kind of panicked." he replied and gestured aimlessly with his hands, "Between the damages you were picking up, Caleb, and the fact that you were using Dark spells that hurt you as well, and that word 'Critical' that kept flashing, and that timer we didn't know anything about, I figured the best way to keep you in one piece would be to get you out of battle. Next thing I know, I just blasted you in the shoulder, probably to jolt you out of your Over-Limit Mode."

"Then just wait until the timer ends." the android muttered irritably, "When it expires, so does my Over-Limit Mode. Using the Special Arte also ends it immediately after it's been cast. The Critical alarm was a warning, mostly for myself, about how close I am to my limit on total damages. If I get past eighty percent total damage, energy systems and physical damages combined and averaged, then the Tri-Crystal System loses all support functions." He waved a hand about erratically, "Basically, that's the point where I die. Since I was still repairing internal damages to my sensors, the measurements might have been off by a bit. I tend to round up to give myself a little bit of leeway." He stopped to pick up his satchel and give it a slight shake to dislodge the last of the ghostly ice. "Next time, don't ice my bag, Raven. I have things in there that don't take to the cold very well."

The group laughed collectively as Jazz gave a happy cry of surprise at finding the torch kindling at last. She lifted her hand, pointing the ring at the dry pile, and smiled brightly as a small plume of the Soulfire shot forward to light the torch.

A huge blast of blue flame rose from the top of the torch, startling the group. Danny immediately looked himself over, half-expecting to be set on fire again, and breathed a sigh of relief when nothing happened. So his time in human form had been enough to let the Soul Stone know for certain that he had mana to add to the fire and didn't back up the extra into himself.

"Hey, that's a pretty big flare!" Sam remarked with a grin, "Bet that means we got a ton of Soul-!"

"Aah!" Caleb gave a startled cry as a translucent green light washed over him, holding him in place as ripples seemed to pass through the light, setting off various sparks at odd points around him, the majority of them concentrated on his injured shoulder. He cringed, eyes shut tightly as Danny reached out in alarm to press his hands against the light.

It felt like a shell of some kind, and he pressed harder, trying to force a crack in it somewhere. When that didn't work, he pounded on the shell, calling the android's name while his friends joined him in trying to break through. Jazz stood by the torch, hands over her mouth and eyes wide as she caught on that whatever held Caleb trapped in the light had been triggered when she lit the torch. Another ripple washed through the green shell, and it pushed the teens back from the android.

"I thought we cleared the Trial level!" Valerie exclaimed, hands clenching into fists, "Nothing else is supposed to attack us until we teleport to the next level!"

"Nebilim, stop cheating!" Danny yelled, "This isn't gonna have me give myself up, you know!" But there was no response from the Underworld King, not even a snicker, and the shell of light finally cracked and splintered, breaking away from Caleb like shards of glass that twinkled out of sight. The redhead swayed unsteadily, took a few small drunken steps, then crumpled to a heap with a soft sigh. "Caleb!"

Tucker was first at his side, PDA out and open to check on his damage count as the technophile gave him a quick examination. After a minute, he leaned back and looked up at the halfa with a relieved smile.

"He's okay; the torch's reward must have been a full repair for Caleb. The only booby-trap on it is that it put him to sleep." he told the teens, who relaxed before chuckling nervously. "Should we wake him up?"

"Actually, nah." Danny remarked, resting his hands on his hips as he tilted his head, "He's been running active for days now. I think he's in need of a break too. I mean, Valerie said it herself, right? Nothing's going to attack us now, so we can handle ourselves for one night."

There was a murmur of agreement over that, dubious at first, then more earnest as they thought over all the times they slept while Caleb stood watch. Camp was set up swiftly, bedding and sleeping bags rolled out, cooking fire started up, and Danny and Valerie worked side by side to drag the redhead closer to the campsite before supplying him with a pillow and blanket.

Dinner was the teen staple of burgers, with Sam crafting her own tofu burger in place of the usual meat patties. There was some chatter to help get past the nightmarish town and Trial that had taken place, and speculation as to what would be in the next level. Were they at the end at last? The final level? Or, and the members of Team Phantom slid their gazes towards Danny as they murmured, was there still one sin left to overcome? One more Trial to undertake and defeat before they could face the Altar of Darkness and set the Soulfire to burning the Book?

They let the questions fade, exhausted by the battles and longing for sleep to escape the reality of being inside the Book for so long. So they crawled into sleeping bags and into bedding, and Danny wound up having to share space with Tucker again since Caleb was using his own bedding for the second time since they entered the Book. And each dreamed of being home, of being back with loved ones and at peace, and wondering if androids could dream as well.

* * *

Morning brought the teens back up for breakfast and repacking their things to go. Danny watched them all for a few minutes before turning to look down at the android still sleeping where they had brought him. He'd turned during the night, curling up to one side and wrapping the blanket more closely around himself. It surprised the group when they first saw that he'd shifted position during the night. Tucker had nearly danced with glee; Danny figured it was a techno-geek thing or something.

He was just about to say the codewords to wake Caleb up, when the android's eyes fluttered suddenly, then slowly opened, a half-asleep expression on his face.

"Mmm?" Caleb mumbled and the redhead carefully pushed himself up to a sitting position, yawning as he rubbed his head.

"You can wake up on your own?" Danny blurted out without thinking, surprised that he hadn't needed to say the usual 'Good morning' in order for him to snap to alertness. Caleb paused, blinking, before looking up at him in confusion, hand still buried in his hair as though he'd forgotten it was there.

"That's an odd way to say good morning to someone." he returned, "Of course I can wake up on my own. I've got an internal timer set to bring me out of self-stasis after nine hours, even if no one's around to tell me the code." He yawned again and let his hand drop at last, giving his head a hard shake as though to clear the last of his sleep away. "It's something I programmed into myself in order to appear more human and act as a fail-safe in case someone didn't know my code. Same with the yawning. You just never let me have the full nine hours to see it, always waking me up with the code phrase."

So Danny learned something new about his angelic friend, and he turned it over in his head while Caleb packed and freshened himself up to look proper again, complaining about the forced rest as Jazz returned the Sorcerer's Ring to him.

"Do we have enough Soulfire to burn the Book now?" Valerie asked of him, and Caleb brought out the silver box to check. The swirl of silver-white fire was impressive, but the concerned expression on the android's face was plenty answer; no, there wasn't enough.

"Let's see if the next level can get us the amount we need." Jazz remarked and gave her brother a confident grin that Danny couldn't really share in, "I'm sure it won't be as bad as this level was! After all, the only one left with a sin to conquer is Danny, and he's already dealt with the worst one he could possibly face back in our own world."

"Oh, really? What was it?" Valerie asked incredulously.

"You don't need to know. It's not your Trial and it's been dealt with already." Caleb told her and steered the protesting huntress to the teleporter, "Now, let's get going! We've got places to go, Trials to beat, and things to set on fire!"

And with that, they all got on the teleporter, hoping the next level would not be as bad as they dreaded. For if the pattern was going the way it was, the next sin to come would be one that Danny kept hidden.

And Danny himself wasn't entirely sure _what_ that sin might be.


	29. Chapter 29

29

Danny blinked once the light of the teleporter faded away. This level looked familiar and not, all at the same time. The sky swirled with the nebulous green glowing clouds and filmy substance that was so like the Ghost Zone that he half-thought that the Book of the Underworld had actually absorbed it. He tilted his head, taking in the sight of hundreds of large round portals -windows?- that floated in the air, forming a strange sort of dome over the level.

He jerked suddenly at the sound of his friends' alarmed cries, and he turned to see what startled them. The teens stood on a large platform, same as him, wide and round and wooden, like the stage in the auditorium in Casper High, but without the rigging for the curtains and lights. In the very center of the stage, surrounded by his friends, was a round hole, maybe only five feet across, not so big or intimidating. A beam of light shone up from it, golden and soft, sparkling almost, like magic dust hung suspended in the light. And in that beam of light, just bobbing and floating there like it hung from an invisible Christmas tree branch, was a Fenton Thermos, a crack scarring it from the edge where the lid came down to near the bottom of the canister. This was what caught the attentions of his friends, first and foremost, as they kept staring at it warily.

Danny didn't blame them; a cracked Thermos in **any** world was always cause for alarm. Ghosts don't stay in them, and the ones that come out were usually a lot angrier than when they got sucked in.

"Wh-where are we?" Caleb murmured, a lost tone in his voice that surprised Danny. The halfa tore his gaze from the Thermos to watch the android. Caleb turned in place, looking out at the unfamiliar sky with a strangely worried expression. He walked out from the group and stepped to the edge of the stage, looking over it for only a few moments before hurriedly backing away. "What is this? I don't know anything about this! If this is ghost-related, I didn't have the chance to finish assimilating all the data about modern ghosts!"

"It's the Ghost Zone." Danny told him, floating over to his side and giving him a concerned look, "Or at least, a replica of it." He waved a hand before his mouth in silent explanation before continuing. "If this was the real Ghost Zone, I'd be breathing mist constantly, my Ghost Sense going off the charts. It's nothing but ectoplasm there." he added and lifted an eyebrow at the android, "What would a world like that do to you?"

"I don't _know_. I just finished telling you I didn't add that data in." Caleb returned in growing irritation, glaring at him as he folded his arms over his chest, "First he changes the levels, then he adds Trials... now this? Some place I've never been to, never seen?" He scowled back out at the rest of the level, "What is with all the **cheating**?" And he went straight to muttering angrily under his breath in some language Danny didn't understand and thus ignored, not caring to try figuring it out since it was probably random anyway. He was more interested in seeing what was below the stage, kneeling to peek over the edge.

* * *

"Okay, so we have a Fenton Thermos with a crack in it just floating here." Jazz remarked as the rest of the team stayed around the suspended container, watching it bob there innocently. She reached out carefully and prodded at it, but the Thermos only floated back into position again once she stopped. "It doesn't look all that special, really. What else is there here?"

"This stage looks like the one at school." Sam mused aloud and clacked a heel against the floor, "But, this is bamboo wood flooring, not oak. It looks like Nebilim skimped on details. He didn't even put up the rigging and lights." She tilted her head in irritation, then looked up at the swirls of green, "And if he was trying to make the level look like the Ghost Zone, he forgot to add the other lairs and the doors to rooms. The real Zone doesn't look anywhere near as empty as this."

"Maybe Nebilim doesn't know anything about the Ghost Zone." Valerie pointed out, "He builds these things based on what's in our heads, right? If he pulled this out of the Spook, then he probably didn't understand it and just slapped something together that looked enough like the Ghost Zone to freak him out." She paused, seemed to rethink her words, then turned a puzzled look to the rest of the team, her hands on her hips. "Hey, here's a stupid question. If this is the level for Danny Phantom's sin, why is there a piece of Casper High in it?"

"You're right, Valerie," Sam returned dryly, "it **is** a stupid question."

Tucker kept to himself, humming thoughtfully as he picked through the menu tabs in his PDA. After the battle with The Enraged and Avenger Mode Caleb, he had sat down to take a good look at the Modes and compared the spell lists with information from the textbook and whatever information he'd managed to download into his laptop from the PDA's connection to the online Archives. What he found was somewhat interesting.

_Shining Bind_ was an extremely powerful angel spell, and recorded in Symphonian history were the names of the few angels that had been able to cast it; Kratos Aurion, Zelos Wilder, Mithos Yggdrasill, and the demon-possessed Abyssion, the only non-angel able to use the spell. Caleb had not been added to that list until after he gained the ability to use the Over-Limit Modes. On top of that, the Special Arte for his Savior Mode, _Divine Judgment_, was listed as a spell that Zelos knew, used in a team effort with Kratos and Lloyd. Caleb could use it on his own. Chosen Mode's Arte was called _Sacred Shine_, a high-level spell usually reserved for powerful healers. Each of Caleb's Modes used a spell that he had to have seen others use.

It was possible that all of the techniques that Caleb possessed came from his watching other Heroes use them and then simply copying them for himself. The only unique spell he had was _Incineration_, since it was bound to the Wonder Fork and couldn't be duplicated without the thing. _Bloody Lance_ and _Dark Sphere_ were also odd; they were Dark spells, and the only other person who could use them was a half-elf woman named Pronyma, and she was one of those Grand Cardinal Desians that worked directly for Mithos up until he killed her out of irritation. Which brought up an interesting puzzle in Tucker's mind that he mulled over as he watched Danny kneel at the edge of the stage and look over the edge, the redhead standing by him and attempting to do the same with more dignity.

How did Caleb learn those spells if Pronyma died before he was created?

* * *

"There are more of those portals down there? It's like they're surrounding this stage on all sides!" Danny exclaimed in surprise, gripping the edge of the stage as he stared at all the round, other-worldly windows floating in another dome. A sphere of portals, completely surrounding the wooden stage; what was up with this level? "I wonder what's on that side." he mused and flew off the stage, twisting to set his feet down on the underside of the platform.

"Hey! Be careful there, I can't follow you like that." Caleb pointed out, hopping daintily off the edge of the stage and letting his wings flare out to flap gently, red mana forming the feathers as normal. He floated forward, craning his head back to look up at the underside of the stage while Danny walked around more easily, unhindered by wings of any sort. "It looks like there's some engraving on this side." the android remarked in surprise.

"Another beam of light, too." Danny agreed, jogging over to stand before another five-foot hole shining a second golden beam outward. A Fenton Thermos floated within it as well, but unlike the one on the top-side, this one was in pristine condition. "Two beams of light, two Fenton Thermoses, two sides to the stage." he murmured in a puzzled tone and clacked his heel against the wood, much the same way Sam had, "The wood here is dark. Can you make out the engraving?"

"It's burnt in, but I'll give it a try. Just do me one thing first." Caleb returned, hands on his hips as he glared at the halfa beside him. Danny tilted his head, puzzled.

"Um, sure. What is it?"

"Stop standing upside down like that. You're disorienting me."

Danny snickered to himself as he flipped back over and resumed floating upright beside him. "Y'know, directions are optional and relative in the Ghost Zone." he pointed out, grinning wider at the slight pout from the android.

"Not in my thinking. That way, up; that way, down. Try to keep in mind that the _rest_ of us don't have ghost powers." Caleb returned dryly and dropped lower from the stage, wings fluttering as they spilled air carefully. He looked upward again, eyes bright as he scanned over the dark wood stage before he frowned. "That's odd. They end abruptly halfway across." he pointed out, lifting a hand to trace the darker lines etched onto the wood, "With only half the etchings, I can't make out what it could be." Danny dropped altitude to float beside him, turning so as to lie on his back and make it easier on himself to study the stage. Caleb glared aside at him, arms folding over his chest. "What did I just get done telling you?" he muttered.

Danny let the words run by, focusing on the marks on the underside of the stage. There were some that curved, some that swirled, some loops and straight lines and intricate bits that looked very elegant and archaic, but all those marks just cut off as soon as they reach the center of the stage. It was like someone had put a giant sheet of paper over half the stage, painted a giant rune or something over the whole thing, and then lifted the paper to remove half the character without a trace. Why would there be only half?

"Can you read it even with half?" Danny finally asked in confusion, "Like think of any symbol that could match the bottom part of that?"

"I know several hundred languages, Raven. Do you really think I can just scan half a symbol through all of them just like that?" Caleb returned in exasperation, a faintly dismayed look on his face, "It could be angelic, elven, dwarven, Runic, Balic, it could be anything! A few marks there could mean one thing, but a specific mark on the top half could change the meaning of the whole symbol entirely!"

"What if that's the Trial symbol?" the halfa went on, worried, "I won't know anything about my sin if it's only half!" The android sighed, running a hand through his hair as he shook his head.

"Then it's worse. An incomplete symbol will never activate; it's too dangerous to try with a character that's badly written, far less one that's been defiled like that." he explained, "Power flows best when magic symbols are written cleanly, clearly and with as few flaws as possible." He gestured helplessly up at the stage. "Something like that... trying to redraw the missing half without knowing the true meaning... it's suicide."

Danny righted himself, worried expression still on his face as he floated there. What was **up** with this level? Scaled down to just one platform, looking like the Ghost Zone, making the stage look like mirror images of some kind...

"Mirror..." he suddenly whispered, eyes widening, "What if-? Caleb, c'mon! Top-side!" He shot off, racing back to the top of the wooden stage as the angel rushed to follow him. For a second, Danny could see his friends and sister still positioned around the lighter stage, Sam pointing down at another set of markings on half the platform as Tucker sat to one side, tapping away at his laptop. Jazz knelt by Sam, examining the marks, and Valerie was nearest the edge, one hand shielding her eyes as she followed his flight up over them. He supposed that she finally noticed the two of them missing and had gone to look over the edge to find them.

But what he was really interested in was the light wood stage and the marks that Sam discovered on it. Was it the other half of the symbol on the underside? Against the paler wood, the lines stood out in stark contrast, almost black as they curved and arced and cut through the wood, only to end abruptly at the halfway point. He paused once he was high enough, glaring down at the half-symbol and waiting for Caleb to soar up beside him. He pointed down at the stage.

"Is that the other half?" he demanded and Caleb gave it a quick scan before frowning.

"There's something wrong with it." the android replied and held up his hands as though to frame the half-symbol between them, then bent them back and forth, "Like it's skewed, distorted. It should be the top half, but I can't recognize the proper features to decipher what it is." Danny stared at him, not understanding, and Caleb rolled his eyes heavenward in thought. "Um, okay, something a teen gets... how about a Rubik's Cube? You know what that is, right?" he tried again.

"Yeah. Hate those things. I can't ever seem to figure them out." Danny grumbled, scowling at the idea of the colorful cube sitting on Jazz's desk, solved by his genius big sister while the one in his room sat somewhere underneath some comics or clothes, dusty and exiled for being a pain.

"Well, it's like that. This half of the symbol is all scrambled up like it was put onto a cube and then twisted around in all kinds of ways until nothing makes sense." Caleb agreed, moving his hands together as if twisting one of the cubes already, "It's going to take time for me to unravel something like that, a couple of days at least."

"We don't **have** days! Nebilim's gathering up power to bust out of here! He could already be on his way out while we're floating here, talking about Rubik's Cubes!" Danny blurted out in a panic, throwing his arms up. They came down when Caleb grabbed his arms and jerked them to his sides again, gripping them as he stared the boy right in the eye.

"No, he **can't**. Nebilim can't leave this Book as long as the seal's still partially in place and he won't leave without your body to act as his vessel." he growled softly, "As long as we have you, he's staying where he is and stalling for time, throwing harder Trials at us to get to you. **He** knows it and he knows **I** know it; that's why he's been trying to take me out since Welgaia." Danny glared back, eyes taking on a vivid yellowish glow.

"Because he's afraid of you using my body for your own reasons, right?" he accused softly and Caleb jerked back, eyes wide with alarm, "Because my ectomana matches your friend's mana?" The halfa tilted his head, uncertain what to think of that reaction. "Were you going to make me a vessel for your friend? For the Wonder Chef?"

"What?" Caleb returned, taken aback, then he waved his hands wildly before himself in a panic, "Wait! No! What the heck gave you that idea?" He fidgeted in place, looking anywhere but at the boy as he seemed to consider things, "Nebilim really likes messing with people's heads, you know that. This is just how he's messing with yours and probably with mine too. Considering I don't have a Trial of my own or anything... I mean, I've got way too many sins to just pick one out and 'do me in' or whatever." He finally gave a nervous laugh. "For all I know, you're probably already Wren's reincarnation or something! Why would I be stupid enough to risk **that**?"

Danny only glared at him, a narrow look that spoke in volumes how much he wasn't buying that. Caleb just smiled broadly at him, too bright and too wide and too 'innocent' for the boy's liking.

"Billion-year-old android... and you don't lie very well, huh? Maybe you should get a cat, too." the halfa growled back, and Caleb's grin dropped into a mirror image of his own glare.

"Don't **push** me on this." he returned icily, "I thought you understood. I'm not **him**."

"Hey! What's going on?" Valerie's voice called up and the stand-off was halted before it began, android and phantom both blinking down at the Red Huntress joining them in their mid-air huddle. She stood on her board, hands on her hips and puzzled look on her face as she looked between them. "Is something the matter? You look like someone told you that your fish was raw." she remarked to the redhead, who sputtered and seemed to regain his composure, puffing his cheeks indignantly.

"_Raw?_ It's **supposed** to be! It's a _sashimi_ platter! What kind of hack-job cook would say my fish being raw is a **bad** thing? If you don't like it, _don't eat my food_!" he declared in a huff and flared his wings, dropping from the height in a hurry. Valerie lifted an eyebrow at him and looked back at Danny, who smacked an open palm against his face.

"What's **his** problem?" she asked him instead.

"Your guess is as good as mine." he grumbled, "Let's get back to the gang. We've got a new twist that no one's gonna like."

* * *

"...and the half-symbol on this side of the stage is distorted somehow." Danny summed up his discoveries for the team, the teens sitting in a circle with him while Caleb prepared lunch a short distance away, muttering almost angrily to himself as he sliced through sheets of seaweed with inhuman speed. The halfa gave him a faintly exasperated look -okay, so maybe he **really** pushed a button asking that earlier, but he wanted to know what his angle was in everything- and ran a hand through his hair. "Caleb can't translate the symbol until this half has been restored and the two halves are put together. That might take a while, and even if that gets done," he sighed, "we don't have a guarantee that it's the Trial symbol. There's nothing else here in the way of clues."

"Your sin must have something to do with balance." Jazz mused aloud, tapping a fingertip against her cheek as she focused on her thoughts, fairly oblivious to the stares being directed at her from the other teens. "This stage is mirrored on both sides in almost every way. It's light up here, and dark underneath. There's a perfect hole in the center up here and down there. A beam of light is shining out of that hole up here, and down there too." She began massaging her temple absently, still in thought. "There's a cracked Fenton Thermos up here, but there's a perfectly whole one down there. There's half a symbol engraved down there, and half up here, but this half is distorted."

"It's some kind of symbolism. There's a deeper meaning to this." Sam agreed, turning violet eyes back to Danny in a concerned gaze, "This place is supposed to be balanced, but it's not quite perfect. There's flaws up here... and none down there." Danny didn't meet her eyes, looking askance as his brows furrowed together.

"Is it really a good idea for him to cook on a wooden platform?" Valerie asked idly, changing subjects with a half-bored tone as she watched Caleb dump the ingredients into a small bronzed pot filled with bubbling broth before turning to start preparations for a more vegetarian lunch. Tucker glanced his way before returning to his laptop.

"Yeah. That pot is a self-cooker. Some ancient thing he's been lugging around that has its own heat source contained. I didn't poke around at it too much more than that. Point is, it won't burn the stage." he remarked and stopped typing long enough to peer at the screen. "Huh. Danny, how far did you get in hearing Caleb's life story?" he asked suddenly. The halfa blinked, coming back to the present and giving Tucker a blank look. "He's still telling you about himself, right? Where did he leave off?" the techno-geek repeated.

"Him and Peppermint and Wren were going into the Moria Gallery to find some ancient recipes. He found out that the Wonder Chef was being tested and failure meant death or exile -which seriously ticked Caleb off-, and some dragon thing attacked them when they reached one of the floors of the cave." Danny rattled off in disinterest, "Then he skipped ahead when he told me about Huron in Welgaia. He went up to Derris-Kharlan to destroy records about how to revive Mithos, but the Angels of Vinhelm captured him anyway. Something about how he was involved in reviving Mithos, but he swore that he had nothing to do with it. Or at least, he thought he didn't, but he also said that he was in denial at the time." He shrugged, still disinterested, "Why?"

"Did he say when he got his Over-Limits?" Tucker asked and Danny raised an eyebrow at that.

"Nooo~." he returned uncertainly, "Why?"

"Ask."

Danny sighed, rolling his eyes as he leaned to one side from where he sat, lotus-style. "Hey, Caleb! When did you-?" he began to yell.

"**Not** talking to you!" Caleb shouted back with a stiff back before returning to the task of rolling up riceballs in his hands.

"Next question?" Danny sighed to his friend, dropping his cheek into one hand as Tucker stared at him in disbelief.

"What did you fight over **this** time?" Sam exclaimed, throwing her hands up in exasperation, "God, are you friends or not? It's like you're stabbing each other in the backs every other day or something!" Danny gave her a half-hearted glare before returning to gazing off at the distance.

"Just wanted to know if the reason why Nebilim's doubled up on tearing him to bits was because he didn't want Caleb using me as a host body first." he muttered and winced at the undignified squawk that ripped itself out of the Goth's mouth, "It was just a question! I know I said I trust him and all, but... that's just something that's been nagging at me since Welgaia."

"If that's the case, then you don't really trust him at all." Jazz pointed out softly, worried expression on her face as she studied her little brother, "I know we didn't trust him during Valerie's level, and knowing that you remind him of his first friend makes the friendship you have now seem... well, twisted, and personally that doesn't instill much confidence in me about him. The only thing we can really count on with him is that he'll try his best to get us out of here in the end." She gestured towards the android with one hand, shrugging. "But **our** words mean nothing to him. They bounce off of that perfect neutrality like a tennis ball against a brick wall. _Your_ words cut him deepest, so you have to watch what you say and how you say it." Her brother simply stared at her, uncomprehending, a faintly vacant glaze over his eyes as one eyebrow hiked up into his hair. Jazz sighed, wishing Danny could fit extra tutoring lessons in somewhere between school, ghost-fighting, and sad attempts at a social life. "Give Caleb time to cool off, then talk to him about it again, but try not to be so blunt. Ease the question in and coax an answer out. Gently! Brute force does **not** work on this man."

There was the sound of clanging, loud, insistent, and annoying, and the teens turned their heads collectively to blink at Caleb rapping a spoon against the little bronzed pot, neutral glare on his face.

"Lunch is ready. Paella, enhanced with lemon zest and black satay, for the main team; riceballs with red and green peppers for the vegetarian." he reported flatly and stood up from the assembly of bowls and utensils to walk past them, Tucker shutting his laptop closed in a hurry as he scrambled over to check out the meal. The group quickly got to their feet, moving towards the lunch and stiffening slightly as they passed the android digging around in his satchel.

It was just as Danny began to pass that Caleb reacted, slapping a hand over the teen's chest and startling him.

"You wanted an honest answer to that question?" he growled softly, "This is it. Throw it from the edge of the platform for all I care." With that, he pulled his hand back, and Danny clapped his own in its place to catch something small that nearly fell. He scrabbled to get it into his palm, blinking down at the glint of gold as Caleb walked away in silence, taking up a place at the edge of the distorted markings on the floor and simply sitting there.

A strange little charm rested in Danny's palm, made of something that looked like gold but duller, not as shiny. It was shaped like a formless little ghost, its tail curling outward then in as though spiraling around itself, tiny eyes looking emptily up at the half-ghost as its mouth hung open wide. If he hadn't known better, Danny would think it was trying to do its own little Ghostly Wail. Odd, the little teeth curved a bit, and the back of the mouth was open, empty, a round space carved into it. It was almost like it was going to be holding something in place there. Little markings, intricate, delicate, ran along the lengths of the ghost's tail, up to its body, and then stopped abruptly.

What **was** this thing?

* * *

Danny kept turning it over and over in his hand during lunch, rubbing a gloved thumb against the edges of the open mouth absently as he ate. It was cute in some weird way, a little ghost wailing away like that, but what did it have to do with his question? It would catch the light from the beam at center-stage, and sparkle ever so slightly, enough to catch the attentions of his friends as they watched him over their own meals.

"I'd like to know how he managed to keep fish stashed without them stinking up his stuff." Tucker remarked in a fairly impressed tone, poking his fork at several chunks of tuna and snapper. He then pointed it at the halfa, drawing little circles in the air with a chunk of fish still on its prongs. "Danny, what's that you've got there? Something from one of the monsters we dealt with in the early levels?"

"Apparently, it's the real answer to my question." Danny returned in a puzzled tone, bouncing the charm in his hand. It felt a bit heavy, but not very much so, and he hadn't been able to find anything in the way of a loop or clasp to show what kind of charm it could be. "Caleb just shoved it at me and told me to throw it off the platform if I wanted to."

"Why?" Sam questioned in surprise, one riceball still in her hand. A sudden suspicious look came over her and she set the ball down, wiping her hand off on her skirt before thrusting it out at him, "Let me see that." Danny turned it a few more times in his hand, then reluctantly set it into the Goth's waiting hand. She pulled it closer, studying it carefully as she turned it around and around in both hands, nimble fingers feeling it out. Jazz and Valerie leaned closer to her, gazing at the charm in awe.

"That's so cute! Where did Caleb get that? You think he has another one I could have?" Valerie remarked in an oddly chipper tone, "Hey, if he said for you to chuck it, could you give it to me instead?"

"What metal is that? Not bronze, not gold... brass?" Jazz questioned curiously, reaching out to touch it herself, fingertip tapping against the ghost's head, "Doesn't feel like brass, can't be copper." She tilted her head. "I feel like I should know what that metal is. I've seen it before, I think."

"It's some kind of charm or something." Danny added in with a shrug, puzzled by the girls' reactions to it, "There are those little marks there. They kind of look like the Trial symbols, but not really. Like, more angles and straight lines than curves and stuff." He paused at Sam's soft exclamation, her eyes wide as she gripped the charm more tightly. "What?"

"Holy crud! This is a Key Crest!" she blurted out, "This is a real life, honest-to-God Key Crest! It's not finished, but that's what it is!" Jazz snapped her fingers, eyes lighting up in realization.

"I knew I saw something like it! Caleb's got one too, remember? It's the same metal!" she added as Sam glared at the little ghost in her hands.

"You don't just **get** a Key Crest; these have to be made specifically for whoever's going to be wearing it." the Goth growled softly, "Caleb was crafting this one just for Danny; that's why it has this ghost theme to it. You need one and a Cruxis Crystal to turn someone into an angel, and once that person's an angel, a second soul can take control of their body and make it their own. That's how it worked for Colette and Zelos."

Danny stiffened, mind zooming about crazily as everything else seemed to fade into the background. A Key Crest? Made just for him? Then with it and a Crystal, Caleb was planning on turning him into an angel, a vessel? So, he really was going to use him first, to bring back his friend. Then, had everything else been a lie? Just to lure him into a false sense of security and strike when he wasn't expecting it? All to slap that thing on him and zap-bang-boom, Danny Fenton would be gone and in his place that Wren guy would be alive again?

He suddenly felt very cold and numb.

"It's incomplete, though." Tucker suddenly said, and Danny snapped back to attention. He looked over at the techno-geek, then at the girls -who looked as if they had just started fighting over who got to hold the Key Crest next-, then back at Tucker, waiting for more information. The boy shrugged one shoulder, typing away at his laptop instead of the PDA. Maybe he needed the extra power? "A Key Crest is like the Trial symbol; if it's incomplete, it's useless. Plus, look really close at it. See how the mouth is set for a round stone?" he pointed out and Sam brought the Crest down to take another look, "Let's remember the textbooks. Lloyd, Kratos and Zelos destroyed nearly the whole world's supply of Exspheres and Cruxis Crystals; whatever was left probably didn't survive all the world rebirths that Caleb put Symphonia through."

"So, what's the point of making a Key Crest for Danny, if there aren't any Exspheres or Cruxis Crystals around to make it work?" Sam questioned, head tilting, "Is that what you mean?" Tucker nodded. "But he found one, didn't he? That's why the Crest is ready for it."

"He didn't find it. Danny did." Tucker pointed out dryly, adjusting his glasses as he looked over at the startled halfa, "Remember, Danny? How you showed Caleb that stone you found in Welgaia? That's how Caleb knew that there was a Cruxis Crystal, or something like it, with us, and made the Crest to match it." Danny held out his hand towards Sam, grim look on his face that had her pass over the charm without protest. The teens watched as the halfa pulled the round red stone from his pocket and carefully slipped it into the gap in the little ghost's mouth. It clicked, there was a brief little flash of light, and the Key Crest now held the stone in place, the ghost's teeth acting as part of the mount to stabilize the stone.

"This was going to turn me into a vessel." Danny murmured hollowly, gazing down at the Crest in his hand.

"I just told you. It's incomplete." Tucker sighed, reaching out to trace the line of markings, "I've been reading the Archives online, using Caleb's codes to get into the deeper parts. There's whole sections about Key Crests and stuff, and the big thing about them is that the engraved charms and spells to get this thing to work **has** to surround the mount." He circled the mouth of the ghost, pointing out the flawless metal, unmarked. "Caleb stopped working on this thing, that's why the rest of the charms aren't there." the boy murmured, "Maybe he really was planning on using you himself, but then he changed his mind. So he stopped working on the Key Crest and gave it to you."

"Is that really how Key Crests and Cruxis Crystals work?" Danny asked him dubiously, scowling at the response of 'I didn't really read the whole thing.' "There's no Cliff Notes version of this, Tucker!"

"You probably shouldn't have kept that stupid Crystal, then." Valerie muttered, folding her arms over her chest as she eyed the Crest, "Still, what would a combination like that do to a ghost? You can't make an angel out of a ghost."

"I'm going to try talking to him again." Danny sighed, getting up and floating off, the Key Crest held tightly in one hand. Jazz lifted a hand to call after him.

"Remember! Do it _gently_! He a very confused and lonely android! Don't make him snap or he might get stuck in Avenger Mode!" she called.

"He can't get stuck." Tucker corrected out of the corner of his mouth, rolling his eyes.

"But he _could_!"

"Then don't jinx us."

* * *

Danny floated past the shining light and the floating Fenton Thermos, quelling a small shudder as he passed it by. It unnerved him, thinking about the two sides of the stage and how the lighter side was flawed. It brought up old memories, old fears he had about himself. Maybe that's what this level was trying to tell him?

He pushed it aside, gripping the Crest tighter, and returned his attention to the task of getting through the android's new wall. Even from here, just a few feet away from the huddled redhead, Danny could 'feel' a barrier hovering around him, an emotional wall that radiated the feeling of 'Back off' better than any sulking teen's. This was going to be one of those unpleasant encounters, he just knew it. The temptation to just turn around now and walk away was high, and Danny contemplated the idea of gaining more air and just floating off to do his own brand of thinking.

Turning around to flee brought him the sight of his friends all sitting in a circle around the pot of stew, glaring collectively at him. Of course; running away wasn't an option. Danny groaned under his breath, shoulders slumping as he turned back around. He _really_ didn't want to go through with this. It smacked of awkwardness and he hated feeling awkward about anything. He sighed, walking the last few steps to stand by the android.

"Go. _Away._" Caleb growled before Danny could even open his mouth. He tightened his arms around his knees, glaring down at the marks on the floor with brightly glowing eyes. "I'm busy."

"I don't see what you're busy with." the halfa shot back, "There's not much of a point showing me a Trial symbol when I don't even know what my sin is. The worst I had to deal with was Dan Phantom, and I shoved his evil butt into a Fenton Thermos months ago!"

"Then don't worry about it. I'll solve it for fun." Caleb grumbled, "Now go away."

Danny very deliberately moved to stand in front of him, arms akimbo as he tapped a foot against the floor. Caleb bristled -and Danny found it almost funny to see how the android's hair could actually lift up kinda like little porcupine quills, just stiffen like that- and glowing eyes that had initially been focused on the floor now shot up to narrow at him.

"Back. Off." he hissed, "You have the Key Crest and the Cruxis Crystal; just throw them **both** away and leave me alone."

"Why did you stop working on this thing?" Danny demanded, holding out the Key Crest, its stone catching the light of the central beam and glittering from its mount.

He wasn't expecting the reaction he got. Caleb's eyes had widened, an almost terrified expression on his face, and then his arm swept aside, and Danny felt the sharply painful sting of the android's hand slapping his, knocking the Crest out of his grip and sending it skittering across the floor. He yelped, clutching the injured hand in his other and rubbing it gingerly.

"Why did you put the Crystal in there?" Caleb snapped at him, "Don't you know how _dangerous_ it is to have a Cruxis Crystal without a working Key Crest to counter its effects?" He rubbed his head with both hands, growling to himself angrily. "No, of course you don't; until you got sucked into this, you just thought things like that were stupid little stories about magical angels and evil half-elves and Martel knows what else!"

"What the heck are you _talking_ about?" Danny shot back, stung by the blow to his own hand. Geez, what was wrong with this guy? "I thought you were making a working Key Crest to turn me into a vessel for the Wonder Chef! Key Crests need to have the symbols on that mount thing in order to work, right? Well, it didn't have that! You didn't put it there!"

"Because I didn't have the chance to finish it! I was starting to engrave the charms by the river outside Damon-Gray; why do you think I spent so long washing dishes?" Caleb exclaimed in disbelief, "And a working Crest doesn't turn you into a vessel! It **prevents** you from becoming an angel! How the hell did you get that backwards?" Danny slapped a hand over his face, groaning softly.

"I knew Tucker didn't read the whole thing." he muttered.

"If it weren't for the fact that you were carrying around a Cruxis Crystal -and don't look at me like that, I scanned you after I was repaired in Welgaia and that's how I knew you had it with you-, then I wouldn't have even **made** the thing!" the android told him sternly, "A Crystal equipped on someone without a Crest and then submitting that person to battles and suffering turns them into an angel, a vessel! It would make you easier to be possessed by Nebilim; that's why I was crafting the Key Crest and that's probably why I was captured in Valerie's level!"

Danny just stared down at him in silence, dumbfounded, and Caleb finally sighed in irritation, dropping his forehead to rest on his knees. He lifted a hand after a moment and waved it limply at the halfa, a pathetic shooing attempt that Danny only frowned at.

"Then, if all I need is the Crystal to be a vessel," he began quietly, "why didn't you just tell me to put it on without telling me this part? If I were a vessel, you'd be able to bring your friend back to life."

"Because if I did that," Caleb mumbled, lifting his head to look up at him with a strange mix of annoyance and regret, "then that makes me no better than Nebilim or..." He trailed off, giving a small shudder as though the alternative gave him chills. "And besides, Wren would be disappointed in me as well." the redhead added in a small voice, "Can't stand the idea of him giving me those kicked puppy eyes, even if it's just my own memory playing back that image."

Danny blinked at him, head tilting in confusion. So, wait; did that mean that Caleb gave up Wren to keep him around? That was... weird. Touching, but weird. He looked aside at the Key Crest shining from where it had stopped skidding across the stage, then back at the android.

"So you really made that Key Crest to protect me? Not to turn me into an angel so the Wonder Chef could come back to life?" he asked, just to be sure. Caleb gave him a flat glare, folding his arms over his knees as he straightened up from his earlier slouched position.

"Raven, if I was really going to do that... **really** going to equip you with a Cruxis Crystal and make you Wren's vessel," he returned dryly, "then I wouldn't have made the Crest _at all_. The Crest uses inhibitor ore. I would have created a gold setting for the Crystal to rest in as a decorative mount... and it **wouldn't** have been ghost-themed. It would have been culinary. Wren's a chef, not a ghost hunter." He tapped himself on the chest, right on the green jewel on his shirt that covered the Key Crest on his own body. "The one I wore was different; the spell on it was in reverse. I was designed to _take_ a soul and hold it, not lose one. I altered that spell when I got my own soul." he added and held out an open hand to the halfa, "Now, unless you're planning on smashing that Crystal to bits, give me back the Crest -**without** the stone, don't tempt me; you won't like me when I'm tempted- so I can finish the engraving."

"Okay, okay! Sorry..." Danny sighed and hurried off to collect the Key Crest. He brought it back, popping the stone out of the ghost's mouth before dropping the charm into Caleb's open hand. The android pulled out a small chisel of some sort and carefully scratched a ring of characters around the ghost's mouth, swift and sure little strokes that made no sense to Danny as they formed the archaic letters. After a minute, Caleb lifted the Crest to study it critically before giving a short nod of approval and handing it back to the halfa.

"Here. Put the Crystal back into it. As long as the two are united, it's useless for turning you into an angel." he told the boy, "I'd still prefer it if you just destroyed the Crystal, but there might be a use for it ourselves later. In the meantime, keep it on you and _away from me_. Cruxis Crystals and I don't mix well." With that, he promptly ignored the phantom and resumed staring at the markings on the floor, eyes bright with his scanning.

"Right." Danny muttered, tucking the completed Key Crest into his pocket and flying back to his friends. So far, all he'd really learned from that encounter was that Caleb had been telling the truth in saying he didn't have plans to turn him into a vessel and that Tucker needed to finish reading important things before scaring the holy hell out of him. And Jazz had been right; brute forcing things out of Caleb wasn't a good idea. It probably was also a bad idea to doubt the guy after declaring that he wanted to be considered Caleb's friend and had total trust in him; Sam had been right on that point, it was like he'd stabbed the android in the back for no reason.

Well, clearing **that** up was something to bring up in the next Team Phantom meeting, which looked like it was going to start as soon as he sat down. He grimaced slightly. This was not going to be fun.

"Stupid Book of the Underworld and its stupid king and stupid things making everything so frickin' complicated..."

* * *

He had been right. It wasn't fun. There were demands to know if he was alright after seeing his hand be slapped like that, then demands to know what Caleb had been planning to do with the Key Crest. Danny had explained flatly that they had been all wrong about Cruxis Crystals and Key Crests, and to double check the records and textbooks. He scowled a bit harder when they did so dubiously and then gave him sheepishly apologetic expression. Why were they looking at **him** like that? It was Caleb they had to apologize to!

Though, in retrospect, Danny probably had to apologize as well.

When he'd had enough of feeling like a heel about the whole thing, Danny left the teens to their own discussions about the Crest and what other protections could be made, and went to investigate the Fenton Thermos in the light.

The crack on it disturbed him a little. Any time a Fenton Thermos got damaged like that, any and all ghosts locked within it would break out and the thing would be made useless for recapturing them. What Danny couldn't understand was why there were two of them in this level; what was the meaning of the Fenton Thermos in the light? And why was this one cracked and the other one not? He reached in to poke at it gingerly, unsure if touching it would trigger anything. There wasn't a Trial symbol on it, that's for sure.

It bobbed and wobbled in place, but nothing major happened. Danny breathed a sigh of relief, then knelt to check out the hole the light came from. Emboldened by the contact with the Fenton Thermos, he stuck his arm into the hole... and freaked at seeing his hand poke out through that same hole. He jerked his arm back, swallowing a cry of alarm, and the ghostly hand also vanished, as though yanked back as well. Saturday morning cartoons taught Danny to redo the same action, just to be sure that the first situation wasn't just in his own head. He stuck his arm in, eyes wide at the sight of the same hand reaching up from the hole.

He waved his hand in the hole; the other hand waved back. He held out three fingers in the hole; the other hand showed him three fingers. He reached out with his free hand and poked the other hand in the palm; he felt his own hand be poked in the hole.

Oh God, that was freaky. Danny retreated his arm, staring at it first, then at the hole. He wondered what would happen if he stuck his head in there. If anything happened, Caleb could fix it with magic, right? Reflexively, he glanced over in the redhead's direction, just to see what he was up to.

Caleb had pulled a journal from his satchel, scratching away at the pages with a quill pen and looking up at the marks on the floor every now and then. The Wonder Fork lay on the floor beside him, as innocuous as ever. He seemed pretty focused on unraveling the screwed-up half of that symbol, and Danny wondered if that was mainly to keep his mind occupied and off the fact that the half-ghost still had in his hands a complete Key Crest and Cruxis Crystal.

He took a deep breath, braced his hands on the edges of the hole, then heaved himself forward before the moment of courage left him, eyes squeezed shut as he felt a brief bit of dizziness at the dive.

Nothing happened.

Well, Danny didn't _feel_ anything happening, no sudden whap to the cranium or anything. He carefully eased one eye open, squinting as he looked around himself.

The stage was the same dark wood as the underside of the platform, and he could see on the very edges of his peripheral vision the white and black patterning of his own body. That was creepy, and freaky. He opened his other eye, blinking a few times before taking a good look around himself, at least as far as he could with being half in the hole and half... not.

His friends lay on the floor off to one side, very still and silent, and Danny would have assumed they had just taken a nap if he hadn't gotten a bad feeling from it. They were too still, and the pot of food had been knocked over, spilling its contents over the floor. No one was in a sleeping bag or had pillows, so this wasn't a planned crash. This was like everyone had just dropped to the floor.

A faint whine of fear caught in his throat and Danny turned his head to find where Caleb was in all this. Something happened, something bad; why hadn't the android cast his healing spells yet?

Oh, there's why.

At the edge of the markings on the stage, Caleb lay half-curled on the floor, clothes torn and hair hiding most of his face. The Wonder Fork was plunged right through his chest, prongs sticking out of his back with the metal remnants of the Tri-Crystal System tangled around them. Glittering bits of crystal were scattered around him, and his satchel was torn open, books and papers strewn about.

Danny screamed in a panic, realizing that if the redhead was like **that** then his friends were... they were...!

Then, hands were suddenly on him, he could feel something grabbing his waist and he only kept screaming until he was forcibly pulled through the hole and his head spun -oh, crud, vertigo- and he felt sick to his stomach and amid all the cries of surprise and alarm and the calls of his name, Danny scrambled on hands and knees to the edge of the platform and threw up the stew he'd eaten only minutes ago.

"Danny? Are you okay? Oh my God, what happened? Jazz! Go get Caleb!" Sam's voice -beautiful voice- demanded of him, full of fear and anger and concern and who knew what else, but he could hear it and he was so relieved to hear it, because her talking meant she was alive, not dead, **not** dead. His stomach heaved again and he let it run its course, sobbing and shaking and wishing he could rip the memories out of his head.

"What the heck is going on? What's wrong with him?" Valerie blurted out, confused and lost on all the action as Tucker and Sam knelt by the halfa, holding him in place as Danny kept heaving over the edge of the stage, coughing and trembling almost violently. "What was he doing with his head in that hole anyway?"

"Probably trying to find clues about this level, and got hit by something Nebilim set up to screw him over." Tucker growled and looked over his shoulder at her, "Get a towel or something! Help us out!"

She hurried off with a roll of her eyes as Jazz returned to them with the android in tow, both of them worried by everything that was going on. Caleb knelt by the halfa, reaching out to pull him back from the edge and lifting an eyebrow when Danny grabbed hold of Sam's wrist, refusing to let go as he alternated between hiccups and coughs.

"Not dead. Not dead. Oh God. Not dead." he babbled between breaths. Valerie returned with a small towel and Jazz grabbed it with a short thanks, turning to clean up her younger brother with it as best she could.

"Scanning complete. There's nothing physically wrong with him. Something he saw or experienced must have rattled him badly, though." Caleb murmured, shifting the boy around to look him in the eyes, hands holding Danny's head still so he wouldn't flail as much in his dying panic. "Raven, calm down. What happened? I can't do anything if you're babbling. Look, we're here, we're fine." he told the boy clearly and glanced at the others, "Guys, come here and show him you're fine. He's hyperventilating and we don't want him passing out on us."

The teens huddled in close around Caleb, offering little waves and reassuring smiles for Danny to take in, the halfa still clutching Sam's arm for dear life. His eyes shot to each face, glowing green eyes raking over their features frantically, one after another. Finally, he began calming, breath coming less in short gasps and more in shaky gulps until that evened out a little more as well. He sagged, and Jazz moved quickly to position herself to catch him when he fell, hugging him tightly and crooning softly, brushing his hair back with one hand. Danny returned the hug just as tightly, eyes still wide with fright as he snuggled deeper into the embrace with a faint whimper.

"All right. Bring him back to camp. I'll make something to help calm his nerves." Caleb sighed, getting to his feet as the others followed, Jazz carefully picking up her brother and murmuring softly to keep him soothed. Valerie trailed behind them, confused by all the care being given to the ghost boy. It was almost as if he was a member of the family to them, the way they handled him with kid gloves like that.

Bedding was laid out for the halfa to lay on -and he struggled briefly with that until Sam sat by him to let him hold her by the wrist- while Caleb set to assembling some kind of broth in the little bronze pot, adding in powders and herbs seemingly at random. He eyed it carefully, then silently decided that the stuff had boiled enough and poured out a cupful. He handed it to Sam, who gave it a dubious look.

"Cool it off a bit and help him drink it." Caleb told her quietly, "It's an herbal tea that'll knock him out and let him sleep without dreaming. He could use some rest after all that and I don't think we want him to re-experience what happened in a nightmare." The Goth pursed her mouth together and nodded, taking the cup and breathing over it to cool the tea.

"What do you think it was down there?" Tucker asked of the android as he cleaned up the pot and stored the rest of the tea in a container, "I've never seen Danny freak out that badly before."

"Probably something based on the Trial here." Jazz murmured with a frown, "Out of all of us, Danny's the strongest, but emotionally, he's also the weakest. He's got a hero complex streak a mile wide and it makes him very vulnerable." She rubbed the back of her neck and sighed tiredly. "Tell him that standing still in a fight will guarantee the protection of Amity Park, and Danny will hold himself in place until he dies. If Nebilim's hitting at that weak point in him, there's no way he'll be able to hold himself together long enough to beat the Trial."

"You guys know an awful lot about that ghost kid." Valerie remarked suspiciously, arms folding over her chest as she lifted an eyebrow at the two members of Team Phantom not being held in place by their leader, "But I'll give you one thing; Nebilim likes hitting where it hurts the most. Whatever was in that hole that he saw, it must have really struck a nerve to turn him into gibbering goo like that. Heck, he doesn't even react like _that_ when I point a gun at him!"

"There wasn't anything under the stage other than the dark wood flooring and the mirror image of that beam, the Thermos and the bottom half of this symbol." Caleb mused aloud, eyes rolling upward in contemplation, "It could be that the view of that stage changes when seen through the hole, rather than by flying down to look up at it from underneath."

"Who wants to stick their heads in there to find out?" Sam pointed out dryly, helping Danny hold the cup in his hands as he drank the tea almost greedily.

"You don't wanna look in there." he told them sleepily, pushing the now empty cup away, "It's too horrible. I wish I hadn't looked." He lay back with Sam's help and snuggled against the pillow before finally closing his eyes to sleep. The teens watched him in concern before turning back to Caleb, who seemed more interested in watching the sky than in looking back at them.

"He kept saying 'Not dead.' earlier." Tucker remarked, curling one finger over his chin, "Does that mean that he saw us dead in that hole? Like an illusion of all of us being killed?" Valerie gave him a surprised look and he returned it with a puzzled one. "What?"

"You're saying the ghost kid's biggest fear is all of us getting killed somehow?" she asked incredulously and pointed at herself, "Me included?" The teens glanced at one another before giving a collective nod, slow and uncertain. "What kind of ghost worries about the lives of living people, including ghost hunters?"

"A Hero." Caleb answered smoothly and got up, "Just let him rest for now, keep him covered so he doesn't catch anything, and study your textbooks. Maybe train a little so your fighting skills don't rust. I'm going back to work on the symbol some more." With that, he walked away again, leaving the group to follow him with their gazes before shifting them over to look at the beam of light at center-stage, the simple little hole now far more dreadful than they first thought.


	30. Chapter 30

A/N: The Wonder Lullaby Caleb sings here has been waiting in my notes for a while now, so you finally get to hear the whole thing. Yayness. It was meant to be nonsensical and there's good reason for it; the Wonder Chef's the only one who is supposed to know what the Ultimate Recipe is after all. XD If Caleb ever figured that out, he'd know the recipe (again), but the chief purpose of the lullaby is to have a backup record of the recipe in case the Archives' version got compromised somehow. The hand motions alert the chefs as to what type of food the recipe is supposed to be, so they don't screw it up and kill somebody.

* * *

30

He awoke when his stomach growled at him, upset for having lost lunch and sensing dinner being made nearby. Danny whimpered, hugging his pillow tightly and trying his best to ignore it, to sink back into sleep and pretend he wasn't where he knew he was and that it was a weekend so he could afford to sleep in because _nothing_ was happening. Sadly, he couldn't stay down because someone or something was poking him in the side and it was making his stomach growl louder. Finally, he gave in to the pokes and cautiously opened one eye, peeking out from under the safety of his blankets to see what was going on.

"Go ghost already. You changed back a few minutes after Caleb's tea kicked in." Sam told him softly, peeking back at him through the hole in the blanket, "I threw every blanket Caleb had over you while Tucker and Jazz distracted Valerie." Danny nodded, calling up the white ring that passed over him and stuck him back into the identity of Danny Phantom. He sat up, pushing blankets down and around himself as he looked over the stage to take a head count.

Tucker was still tapping away at the laptop, picking up his PDA to study the screen every now and then. Valerie and Jazz were nearby, sparring to hone their fighting styles with kicks, punches, and blocks, grinning despite their focus. And Caleb was back at the bronze pot, looking only half-aware of things as he stirred the contents of the pot.

"We already said we were sorry about the whole Key Crest thing." Sam added under her breath, watching the redhead make dinner, "But, I kinda got the feeling that he's still hurt over it even though he said to just forget it. It's weird; I thought he didn't care what we thought of him, that he was only interested in you." Danny reached out to pat her shoulder, shaking his head when she looked at him in surprise.

"He counts all of us. 'S why he was... takin' damage in Val's level." he mumbled, and he hated how his tongue felt so thick and heavy, it made his words slur, and his head felt full of fluff. "You guys said mean stuff 'bout him... and it hurt him bad... He's just bein' stubborn right now, tryin' t'hide behind... perfect neutrality. 'S not workin' if you could read 'im."

"You okay?" Sam questioned worriedly and Danny shrugged limply.

"Could use some water. That tea **really** packs a punch." he muttered and his stomach growled, "And food. Brain bleach, too; I still remember what I saw." He shuddered. "It wasn't pretty." Sam nodded slowly, picking up her canteen and unscrewing the top for him.

"Tucker says that he thinks you saw an illusion of us in that hole." she told him, passing over the canteen to let him sip at the water, "An illusion where we were all dead. Is that what you saw?" Danny nodded in silence, a gloomy expression on his face as he passed the container back to her. "You can't trust things you see in the levels, Danny. Everything here is an illusion, traps set up by Nebilim to break our wills to fight him and hold us here forever." she told him firmly.

"It's not that easy to ignore." Danny admitted, running his hands through his hair with a sigh, "I don't even know what the sin I'm supposed to face is, and suddenly I'm slapped with that illusion. There aren't any clues, no hints... Nebilim's definitely cheating again."

"If he's cheating, then tell Caleb. He'll call Nebilim's bluff and we'll get a clue." the Goth told him confidently, "It worked back in my level!"

It seemed like a good idea, and Danny stuffed it into that pile of other good ideas that was somewhere in the back of his mind. His stomach growled again and his focus turned to getting fed rather than getting clues. Stupid Trials could wait, he was hungry _now_.

Ghost and Goth both joined Caleb at the cooking pot, sitting down and peering in more out of curiosity than anything, though Danny hoped it would hint to the android that he was eager for a serving of whatever was in the pot. It was dark-colored, and a rich aroma wafted from it to tickle his nose. Meat, there was meat in that stew. He glanced aside at Sam in concern and she only shook her head, murmuring that she'd already eaten dinner, tofu and pineapple skewers that she had demanded the recipe to after eating them.

Caleb remained quiet, still stirring as he kept his gaze on the stew. It was as though he hadn't even registered the fact that the teens were right in front of him, and Danny finally took to poking at the redhead out of concern.

"How long has he been all quiet like this?" he asked Sam, confused by the lack of reaction.

"Couple of hours now. Tucker's been monitoring his activity on the laptop." she returned with a sigh, "According to our resident geek, he transferred a copy of that PDA application to the laptop and actually got a link set up to Caleb's mental task manager or something. He can't really **do** anything to him, just watch what he's doing basically, and it looks like Caleb's running some kind of heavy-duty decryption program on that screwed-up symbol." She jerked a thumb over her shoulder at Tucker, who kept bouncing back and forth between the laptop and the PDA. "He thinks that if he works at it some more, he might be able to set up a more direct link and control some things, like switch off certain spells or disable one of the Over-Limit Modes."

"That sounds like brain hijacking." Danny muttered dubiously, eyebrows furrowing together, "I don't like the idea of Tucker being able to mess with Caleb's mind like that. Remember Caleb 2.0? Do we want **that** running around without a way of stopping it?"

"That's what I told him. He just whipped out the Lens and pointed at it." Sam sighed, "Meantime, we just snap Caleb out of it with that code phrase. Be prepared for a chewing." Danny blinked at her in confusion as she turned to face the android, lifting a hand to cup around her mouth. "Good evening, Caleb!"

"Welcome. Please state your business." Caleb returned immediately and blinked in surprise before scowling at the two of them, "Will you quit that? I'm trying to sort out the marking and you're not helping when you do that!"

"Sorry." Danny returned, wincing. He must have been _really_ deep into solving that puzzle. The android shook his head, picking up a bowl to serve the stew and handing it off to him.

"Never mind. I'm the one who should apologize." he returned, "I've just been really busy working on the symbol. Hoping to have it unraveled sooner than two days." He reached down to switch off the pot and stood up. "I should get back to it." he added, "How are you feeling?"

"Better, thanks." the halfa remarked around a mouthful, already wolfing down the stew. He swallowed quickly and spun a fingertip in the air. "Hey, we were thinking that Nebilim's cheating by having us be in a level without any clues, especially one that you've got no info on. That's breaking the rules, right? I mean, it's not fair that you don't know anything about the Ghost Zone, but **we** do, so that kinda cancels that part out but... okay, I'm rambling but you get the idea, right?" Caleb nodded and Danny went on, "Anyway, do you think you can call him out on the 'no clues' rule and see if he'll drop some hints? I've got no idea what my sin's supposed to be here; if it was about being evil or something, I already dealt with that when I beat Dan!"

"That's not how it works, but I'll see what I can do." Caleb sighed, rubbing his head, "Just hope we get something out of this because I don't like talking to him unless I absolutely have to." He took a deep breath, shook himself off, then raised his voice with a more determined tone. "Nebilim! This level violates the laws governing the Book of the Underworld! The Trial-Taker has already redeemed himself and thus possesses no other sins! Why have you included a level for him?" Caleb called out.

_"A sin that is not easily identified qualifies for the Trial. It is no fault of mine that the boy does not realize the depths of the darkness within him."_ the Underworld King returned in contempt, _"It is very much like yours, isn't it, Fallen Angel?"_

"This is not **my** Trial! Leave me out of this and obey the laws!" Caleb snapped back, fists clenching at his sides, "There is only a defiled symbol and no other markings or indicators to show the boy his sin given form! No torches, no monsters, nothing to give us guidance!"

_"There is plenty to guide him. It is his fear that prevents him from seeing them."_ Nebilim replied coldly, _"However, if you prefer, I will nullify this Trial and allow you to claim a fraction of its reward if you perform one condition on my behalf, Fallen Angel."_

Everyone fell still at that, eyes turning to stare at Caleb, who froze in place with a confused expression. Danny started to get a sinking feeling, a dread heavy weight in his gut that made the stew lose its appeal very quickly. He looked over at Sam worriedly.

"What do you think that means?" he asked softly and the Goth returned the look with wide eyes full of alarm.

"Nebilim's saying that there's already things here to solve what your sin is, you just can't see it because you're afraid of them." she paraphrased quickly, "But he's offering a deal; Nebilim will cancel this Trial and give us some Soulfire if Caleb does something for **him**!"

_"What?"_ Danny cried in shock.

"What are the terms of your condition? I agree to nothing until I am made aware of your demands." Caleb finally returned, growling the words out between his teeth as he glared at the heavens.

_"Offer the Key Crest to me in exchange for my generosity."_ Nebilim all but purred cruelly.

"NO!" Caleb exploded, wings flaring as he swept the Wonder Fork from his back in preparation for a fight, "Never!"

_"Then struggle against this Trial level until your soul rots away. In the end, I shall claim the host body and you will be nothing more than another meaningless name in the lost tales of Symphonia."_

There was nothing more after that, and the teens looked at one another in confusion, worry, and alarm. Caleb stood in place for a moment longer before dropping to all fours and letting his wings collapse back into place.

"Stupid, stupid, _stupid_... how could I be so **stupid**?" he berated himself, "Of _course_ he would have seen it! Of _course_ he would demand it! He must have set this up so he could take it!"

"Well, least we know where we'll be staying for the next couple of days." Valerie griped, rubbing the back of her neck, "Good thing Caleb bought all that food in my level."

* * *

The night had not gone very well, despite the dinner and everyone getting rested up. Danny stayed up a little longer, watching Caleb return to his spot at the edge of the markings and resume scratching away in his journal. He said nothing else to anyone and pointedly ignored Danny's every attempt to talk to him.

In the end, Danny went back to bed and slept with the Key Crest held tightly in one hand.

He was responsible for breakfast the next morning, since Tucker reported that more of Caleb's mental power seemed to be totally consumed by the distorted symbol and Sam's attempt to use the code phrase to pull him out of it resulted in his screaming at her in pure fury.

It was the first time something like that had happened, and Sam's hands shook as she clutched a mug of hot tea, one eye twitching.

"He swore at me. It was in some weird language but I could tell." she babbled under her breath, sipping at the tea every now and then, "He used some _really_ bad words. I don't wanna know what he said. I just know he swore."

Breakfast was waffles with fruit slices, sausage for Tucker. Danny managed to coax out a little smile of appreciation from the Goth. As much as he didn't like the idea that Caleb had torn into her like that, he could also understand how badly frayed the android's nerves were. It was almost like turning your back on your worst enemy as a show of trust to convince them to become an ally, and then having your best friend shoot you from the front. Only in Caleb's case, it was weirdly reversed, where he kept facing his enemies since he already knew they'd come at him from behind, and then his friends stab him in the back because -oopsie- they weren't _really_ his friends after all, that was just wishful thinking on his part.

"Compared to this, I liked it better when he pushed us away using perfect neutrality." Jazz remarked with a frown, tapping her fingertips against her arm as she folded them over her chest, watching Danny give Sam an extra helping of berries, "You would think he should have known better than to start up a conversation with Nebilim after revealing he had a Key Crest for Danny's Cruxis Crystal."

"It was **my** idea that he talk to Nebilim, Jazz." Danny sighed in exasperation, conveniently covering the fact that it had actually been Sam's idea, "We've been through this already. Nebilim probably wanted it so he could get rid of the Crest since that protects me from the Crystal."

"More processing power went to this symbol." Tucker reported around a cheek full of sausage, watching a set of charts and graphs on the screen of his laptop, "I'm expecting smoke to start coming out his ears, he's really dedicating a ton of power to this thing."

"Which leaves the rest of us to figure out where the clues are to find out what the heck my sin is." Danny muttered, "Wonderful. Any ideas?" Valerie lifted her hand and he gave her a dubious look. "Okay... This doesn't involve shooting me, does it?"

"Only if you want me to." the huntress purred and pointed towards the hole instead, "You looked in there and saw the rest of us dead, right? What if you stuck your head in the hole from underneath the stage?" Danny winced, glancing over at the hole himself.

"Suddenly, shooting me is starting to sound like a really good idea." he remarked and yelped at Sam smacking the back of his head, "Hey!"

"She actually has kind of a point, as much as I don't like to admit it." the Goth added dryly, "The level has something to do with balance, yin and yang and all that good stuff. Things up here are supposed to be the opposite of what's down there. At least, that's how it's supposed to be." She popped a few of the berries into her mouth and took on a considering look at the hole some distance away. "You looked into the hole on this side and saw the illusion of us dead. By that logic, you should see the opposite of that if you look into the hole on the underside of the stage."

"What if it's not?" Danny pointed out.

"What if it _is_?"

"But what if it's **not**?"

"Danny," Jazz interrupted with a sisterly glare, "get down there and stick your head in that hole before I throw you at _Caleb's_ head."

"Ack! No need to get violent!" the halfa complained, floating off to the edge of the platform.

So now here he was on the other side of the stage, standing before the hole in the center of the dark half with Valerie sitting on her hover board next to him, upside down to his right-side up. She had decided to join him just to be sure he actually did stick his head in there. Danny gulped, dreading what he would see, but he knelt in place, gripped the edges of the hole and dove in with both eyes squeezed shut.

"Whoa. Dude, that's just creepy." Tucker's voice remarked and Danny opened his eyes to see the techno-geek watching him from his place near the campsite, laptop open before him as always. "I'm used to seeing your head come _through_ the floor, not out a hole. Looks almost unnatural this way." Tucker added. The halfa blinked at him in surprise and the other boy tilted his head, faintly perplexed by the silent treatment. "So... are we dead?" he asked.

"No. You're just... there." Danny returned in confusion, "I guess the hole on the bottom side really is just a hole." The technophile's eyebrows lifted together.

"No kidding? Lemme see." he remarked and crawled towards him from the laptop. Danny pulled back, reorienting himself on the underside of the stage as Valerie looked at him expectantly.

"It was just a hole. Nothing special." he told her just before Tucker screamed in horror. "What was that?" Danny cried in alarm, "Tucker!" He and Valerie rushed out from the underside of the stage, flying back over to the top side in time to see Jazz and Sam work together to drag the techno-geek back from the hole in center-stage. They landed, hurrying to join them as Tucker blindly reached for his PDA and snatched it up into a hug, eyes wide.

"What happened?" Valerie demanded to know. Sam shook her head, confused.

"I'm not sure. We saw Danny appear through the hole, Tucker went over to take a look, and he stuck his head in when Danny disappeared. Next thing I know, he's freaking out and we had to yank his head out of there." she explained, hands spread open helplessly, "He hasn't even spoken yet!"

"M-my precious tech...!" Tucker whimpered, clutching the PDA like it was a lifeline, "How could they do that to my sweet technology?" He looked around wildly, taking in the faces of the teens around him. "You guys would never hurt my precious gadgets, right? Right?" he cried, "That was just the illusion! You wouldn't do it for real!"

"Whoa, whoa!" Danny exclaimed, lifting his hands for peace, "Wait a second, what illusion? Are you saying you saw something when you looked into the hole from this side? You didn't see everyone lying dead on the floor?"

"Compared to what I saw, seeing dead people would've been fun!" Tucker wailed, "I saw all of you totally destroying my tech! Computer viruses, pouring coffee on hard drives... it was _barbaric_!" Sam lifted an eyebrow, looking over at Danny with an odd expression.

"It's also different from what Danny saw. Could it be that each of us will see different things if we looked in that hole?" she questioned. There was only quiet, the teens looking at one another in contemplation before Sam finally uttered a harsh sigh and got up. "Oh, fine! I'll go first then!"

"Sam! Wait!" Danny cried in alarm, whisking through the air to float before her, hands out, "We don't know anything about this thing! So far it's freaked Tucker out and scared the living daylights out of me!" Sam scowled at him, hands on her hips.

"Maybe that's what Nebilim meant by there being clues already here and you're too scared to see them!" she shot back, "All we need to know about this Trial is in that hole, but we won't be able to see them because we're too afraid of **what** we'll see to take a look!" She flipped her hair back, kneeling before the hole herself and taking a deep breath.

"But..." the halfa murmured worriedly and she gave him a lidded glare.

"I'll be fine. I faced down my fear already, remember?" she reminded him, then ducked her head down, dipping it past the inky black of the hole to take her own look. Danny watched her carefully, ready to yank her out at the slightest sign of distress.

He didn't have to. Sam suddenly stiffened in place and jerked her own head out of the hole, eyes wide and face flushed.

_"Caleb!"_ she screamed, "You're freaking SICK!"

Caleb only twitched from where he sat, and Tucker noted in the midst of his panic attack that the chart had dipped just a bit.

* * *

Lunch rolled around and no one seemed in the mood to try sticking their heads in the hole to check for clues. There had been an attempt to coax Sam into telling what she had seen, but just the mention of it had her face color bright red and she would turn a furious glare at the android. Danny managed to get Caleb to snap out of his 'trance' with less yelling, and he sat with them at the campsite, assembling sandwiches for the group. He couldn't figure out what was going on either, just as clueless as before.

"Why do you keep staring at me like that?" he finally complained, "I didn't do anything and I already apologized for yelling at you!"

"It's what she saw in the hole." Jazz sighed, patting Sam on the shoulder in an attempt to soothe her, "Apparently, she really didn't like that illusion version of you that she saw." Caleb blinked in confusion, then looked to Danny for an explanation, but he simply shrugged and gave a weak smile.

"It turns out that we see different things in there." the halfa remarked, "Tucker looked in and saw illusion versions of us wrecking technology, and Sam saw something about you that she says was really sick." The android blinked again before scowling.

"I'm not the sick one if **she's** the one who saw it!" he protested and Danny could imagine his own face turning red -too bad androids can't really blush because **that** would have been funny to see-, "I don't even know what she's talking about! I'm being accused of a crime I have no idea exists!"

"Was he beating up baby seals or something?" Valerie asked dryly, already bored with the conversation. Caleb turned a horrified look on the huntress as Sam flushed angrily.

"No! That's horrible, but it's not what I saw!" she declared. Jazz gave the android a speculative look, a faint expression of repulsion beginning to grow on her face.

"Was he doing something to Danny that would qualify as deviant behavior?" she asked in that tone that sounded like she was already plotting out which authorities to call first and what the value was in writing a thesis on android therapy. Caleb's horrified expression redirected to her, his eyes growing even wider.

"No! God, Jazz, what have you been reading?" Sam exclaimed, shrinking back from the older girl, her nose wrinkling in disgust.

"Tentacle rape!" Tucker cheered, thrusting both arms into the air. He looked around as the group collectively stared at him in shock.

"Freudian slip much?" Jazz asked of him, glaring at the boy who now shrank behind his laptop, chuckling nervously.

"It was just a joke." he protested weakly.

"I think I'm gonna faint." Caleb whimpered, dropping his face into his hands.

"Tucker! What the **hell**?" Sam blurted out in revulsion, "That's not funny!" She pointed at Caleb, who just groaned something that sounded suspiciously like 'I'm next to sleep in the Great Seed, Sis'. "I saw him dressing Danny up in cook's clothes!" she declared.

There was absolute silence then, with everyone staring incredulously at Sam, then shifting gazes to Caleb. The android lifted his head to gape at her in disbelief. Slowly, his mouth closed, then he blinked, once, twice. Then a broad smile grew on his face, and before anyone really knew it, Caleb was laughing, had lifted a hand to cover his eyes and just laughed. Laughed so hard, he was shaking, tears running down his face, and then he just fell over, one arm wrapped around his middle as he kept laughing.

"Wow. Wasn't expecting that." Danny remarked idly, blinking down at the redhead now rocking back and forth in laughter. "Hey, Sam, clear it up for me. How does me being dressed like a cook make Caleb the sick one? That's nothing compared to what everyone else was suggesting."

"I don't know exactly!" Sam protested, cheeks puffing and turning red again, "It just does! Sick and wrong!"

"Ugh, we're all gonna die here, aren't we?" Valerie sighed, glaring at the laughing android as he hid his face against the stage, fists pounding on the floor, "Our resident angel is having a giggle fit and we've got a hole in the floor that's messing with our heads. I'm not having much confidence in this mission to save the world and stuff."

* * *

It took another hour or so for Caleb to finally get over himself and go back to working on the symbol, sitting at the edge of the burnt markings and hugging his knees as he gazed over it with half-lidded eyes, the green brightly glowing as he processed the distorted lines and curves. The teens had agreed to let their stomachs settle before anyone else tried looking into the hole, just to be on the safe side. Tucker resumed typing away at the laptop, lines of code streaming along as he kept the occasional eye on the now minimized collection of charts and graphs that told him how deep in thought Caleb was at the moment.

Danny's eyes crossed slightly every time he looked over his friend's shoulder to see what he was doing. The PDA was also working, a translation program of sorts spewing out text at random times. Every time it did, it would beep, and Tucker would pause to pick it up and read it carefully, then he would go back to typing away at the laptop. Danny supposed it had something to do with his work on setting up a direct link to Caleb. He wondered if Caleb knew what Tucker was up to; it was **his** brain that the guy was trying to break into after all.

In the meantime, Jazz and Valerie were flipping a coin to see who was next to stick their heads in the hole and take a peek for clues. It was easier to do it that way after spending twenty minutes listening to them spout reasons for why the other should go first. Sam was the referee, and she looked profoundly bored with the job as two of them kept coming up with extensions to the coin-flipping.

It took another minute before the Goth snatched the coin out of the air and threatened to include them in her next environmental protest rally if they didn't decide then and there who would be next to look in the hole.

Valerie went first.

"I'm not gonna like this." she complained, kneeling at the edge of the hole with an uncertain expression. She looked aside at Sam and Jazz hopefully. "Can I trade turns?"

"Red-backed jungle tree frog!" Sam growled, holding up a hastily made protest sign. Valerie groaned and shut her eyes, diving down to stick her head into the hole.

They waited for a few minutes while she stayed like that. Sam and Jazz glanced at one another, then glared down at the huntress.

"Open your eyes!" Sam yelled at her, "You're not allowed to keep them closed!"

And it was another minute before Valerie jerked her head out of the hole, mouth open and eyes wide. "You're all hypocrites!" she exclaimed and Danny tilted his head, puzzled.

"That's a new one." he remarked, "How come I'm the only one who sees dead people?"

"Yeah, yeah. We're hypocrites. Like you're one to talk..." Sam growled in an unimpressed tone, "Next!"

"I don't see how me sticking my head in there is going to change anything." Jazz protested weakly, "We've heard all the different things we've seen and nothing really stands out as a clue to what Danny's sin could be."

"Head. Hole. **Now**." Sam growled again, holding up her sign, "Or you're signing up for a Ten-K Walk-a-thon!"

"This is cruel and unusual punishment!" Jazz whined, but she scooted to the edge of the hole and stuck her own head in to look around. She jerked it back out almost immediately, eyes wide and face red. "No way." she murmured, then startled Sam by ducking her head back in again for a second look. She came back up with a scowl. "Valerie was right! They really **are** hypocrites!" she declared indignantly.

"That's new too. Jazz and Val saw the same thing." Danny went on in the same surprised tone, "All that's left is Caleb."

"Only if you're the one to snap him out of it." Sam told him flatly, "I don't care to be cursed at in a dead language, thanks."

"This is a good chance for me to test this link." Tucker pointed out with a grin, "Let's see if it works! I'm going to try remote accessing Caleb's thoughts and slip in a message that we want to talk to him." He started typing away at the laptop, focusing on the lines of archaic-looking text scrolling along the screen. "Let's see. Opening channel, synching up, sending the message... now..."

The group looked over towards the redhead as Tucker hit the Enter key, not sure what to expect. Caleb gave a sudden violent shudder, then twisted around to glare venomously at the technophile, who shrank behind his laptop with a faint 'Eep!'

"You will break that link to me **right now**, or I'm going to break that laptop _over your head_!" he snarled. Tucker poked at another key, the window dropping down to nothing. "And don't you **ever** do that again!" the android added and turned back, holding his head in his hands, "Ugghhh... now I know what Zelos meant when he talked about killer hangovers. It really does feel like something hit you in the back of the head, but from _inside_ your skull."

"Did you know it was gonna hurt him?" Danny demanded, glaring at Tucker. The other boy shook his head quickly. "Fix it so it doesn't." he told him, then called out to the android, "Caleb! We need you to stick your head in that hole!" Caleb twisted around again, staring at him in disbelief.

"You want me to do _what_?"

"Stick your head in the hole!"

"Is this another of those perverted lines of innuendo?"

"No! Haven't you been paying attention? That hole over there!" Danny shouted at him, pointing at the hole in the center of the stage, "Go stick your head in it and tell us what you see!" Caleb followed his outstretched arm, blinking at the hole a few times before looking back at him.

"What if I don't want to?" he countered and Danny wanted to scream in frustration. It really seemed like the whole world was out to get him at that moment.

"Everyone else had their head in there! It's your turn now!" Sam pointed out in irritation, "We're trying to find clues to help Danny figure out what his sin is, and you're the last one to look!"

"All right, all right." Caleb grumbled, walking over to the hole and kneeling at its edge, "It seems so undignified, though, just sticking your head in there. I'm going to feel stupid about it."

"Join the club." Valerie muttered, sulking where she sat by Jazz, "You were the biggest hypocrite of all in the illusion I saw."

"Why am I suddenly the bad guy whenever you look in this thing?" the redhead complained, "I'm an angel! Mechanical, but still!" He pouted, then looked down at the hole for a moment before sighing and carefully bending forward to dip his head into it, partially swallowed up by the inky black circle of shadows. The teens leaned forward expectantly, wondering what he might see and how he might react.

"Oh, hey. His mental pattern just went haywire." Tucker commented in mild surprise, blinking at laptop.

Caleb pulled himself out of the hole, eyes wide. He stayed still, just kneeling there, and stared into the distance for a bit. The teens glanced at one another worriedly, and Sam reached out to poke at his arm.

"Um... Caleb? You okay?" she asked him.

"I didn't like what I saw." Caleb returned in a small voice, "I really didn't. Please don't make me look again." Danny didn't like the tone of his voice, so quiet and crushed-sounding.

"What did you see?" Jazz asked, curiosity overwhelming concern for that one moment. Caleb looked confused, the kind of confusion a puppy would have when it was scolded for something it didn't understand.

"Everyone was an angel." he replied in that same small voice, "Everyone had a Cruxis Crystal."

The group went quiet again, absorbing those words and turning them over collectively, trying to grasp the concept of being an angel. Danny frowned, folding his arms over his chest as he thought through the entire day's activities in his own head.

"Man. I still don't get it!" he complained, "There weren't any clues there at all! And I still don't know what my sin is supposed to be!"

* * *

Within the hour, things had settled back into a stressful form of the Waiting Game. Jazz and Valerie returned to their sparring practice for lack of anything else that could be done. Sam lay on her belly after spreading her sleeping bag out, the Symphonian textbook open before her as she scribbled away in a notebook, looking over the words before writing out notes. A bowl of fruit sat near her, assembled from some of the ingredients Caleb kept in his own travel pack, which he'd left at the campsite for them to dig into for food.

Tucker went back to work on his direct link program, still trying to refine it and sneak the other end open without alerting the android. Caleb himself had gone back to the markings, just sat there at first, then flopped over to one side with a sigh of exasperation. Danny had to hold back a snicker -it looked like how he would react to a stack of algebra homework sitting on his own desk- and went back to pacing the stage. He was still trying to puzzle out the meanings of all the different things he and his friends had seen in the hole; there had to be something in common between them all. He couldn't have multiple sins bunched together to act like one, right? That would **really** be cheating!

_"Gather, gather, twelve from virgin hens."_ Danny paused in confusion, ears catching the sound of soft singing. _"One, one quarter, cup sweet snow in your hands."_ He turned around, trying to pin down where that was coming from. It was a bizarre little song, the lyrics didn't make any sense but the melody was soothing, calming.

Angelic.

_"One flower in a cup, serving all purposely, one and half-tea tartar cream's for me."_

Danny blinked, finally zeroing in on the source of that weird song. Caleb lay on his back, arms folded behind his head as he sang softly, gazing up at the swirls of green clouds and film of the fake Ghost Zone.

_"One and half-tea for you, Vanilla Bean."_ the redhead went on in the same soothing tone, _"Half-tea's tears fall from her almond eyes, from a quarter-tea's sting of a white stone's demise. Sweetly, sweetly, cup one's sweet delights; pour into the world, light of life and life of all."_

It didn't seem like his voice was carrying it very far, since no one else seemed to pay any attention to him. Danny floated over, curious by the song, and Caleb spotted him coming near, raising an eyebrow at him in silent question.

"Is there more to it?" the halfa only replied with a question of his own, and the android grinned before looking back towards the sky again.

_"Divide, divide, yellow from the white! One and quarter cup, left for half."_ Caleb sang on, _"Sweet snow on the flower, shake, shake, shake. Tartar cream, tear drops run, staining white stone's grave."_ He sat up suddenly and held out his hands, turning them in wide sweeps as if gathering something towards his body. _"Gently, gently, bring back sweet delight,"_ the motion shifted to flicking upwards, quick lifts that had Danny tilting his head in confusion, _"Rise, rise, rise, mountains of snow."_ Caleb's hands went still, held forward in place. _"Sprout from single flower, quarter, quarter, twice I know. Draw your breath from before, brace for warmth."_

Danny decided that this was officially the weirdest song he had ever heard, and he listened to bands that had titles like 'My Baby Daddy is My Daddy Too' or something of the sort.

_"Soft, soft, warm until soft. And when the land springs,"_ Caleb sang softly, bringing one hand up to his own mouth, _"the Angel's kiss will bless us all."_ He let the melody trail off, then leaned back on both hands to look up at the halfa. "Well? What do you think? Wren taught me that song after his first son was born." the android asked brightly.

"To be honest? It's weird." Danny replied and held up his hands quickly at Caleb's injured expression, "But it sounds really nice! Like a lullaby and stuff! I just don't get the lyrics!" The redhead gave him an askance look, then sighed dismally.

"Yeah. I know. I don't get them either." he admitted, rubbing his head, "Wren said that he was teaching it to me to make up for something he did to me in the Wonder Organization headquarters in Hima. I would learn the song and the hand motions that went with it, and no matter what, I should never forget it." Danny put his arms akimbo, puzzled.

"The song is his apology to you?" he echoed and Caleb nodded, "For what? What'd he do to you?"

"I don't know." Caleb replied with a shrug, equally confused, "I think it has something to do with the two hours' worth of my memories that got erased while I was there. But I never understood why Wren would want to delete my memory."

"Man, that's creepy; your memories can be erased? Just like that?" Danny asked, snapping his fingers, "File not found and all that?" Caleb nodded. "How can you tell when your memory's been erased?"

"I found out when I got a time-code error later that day." the android returned, folding his hands behind his head again and letting himself drop back onto the floor, "There's a gap in the timeline of my memory that doesn't cross-reference to any maintenance record, meaning I wasn't offline for sleeping or diagnostics or anything. I'm always recording data, and if there's suddenly some info missing and I wasn't offline during that span of time, then it means someone took that info out of me."

"Any idea what it could be that got erased?" Danny asked in concern and Caleb shook his head, "Did you ask him?"

"Yeah. He said I made him promise not to tell me." the redhead replied and scowled faintly, "I believed him; he never could tell a believable lie, not with his honest streak. It wasn't until he equipped his own Cruxis Crystal and started going insane that he got better at it. Yet another reason for me to hate those things..."

"Oookay." Danny mumbled, tapping a hand against his leg in thought, _'Not touching __**that**__ one...'_ He tried another angle, "Wren was your best friend; he wouldn't mess with your memories unless he was positive that you shouldn't have **that** memory. Maybe not then, but later it would be safe, and that's why he taught you that song. If you could figure out what the song meant, maybe it will tell you what it is you lost." Caleb shrugged, dubious expression on his face.

"I cross-referenced the missing timeline with all the files I had in the Archives. Only one file came up with a match to that missing section of my memory." he replied and sighed, "But it was locked, sealed with a code that I can't crack."

"How's that possible? You've had all these billions of years to hammer away at it!" Danny cried in shock, throwing his arms out for emphasis. Caleb gave him a flat glare.

"The lock has a copy of my personality. It learns as I learn, so whatever I try to do to it, it figures it out almost instantly and moves to block my access to the code." he returned dully, "Basically, I **am** the lock." Danny gaped at him and the redhead sighed again, "I suppose I could analyze the song, but I don't really have any kind of parameters to work with. Wren was the Wonder Chef, but he also had a thing for food puns and skills with magitechnology. Probably tweaked my system enough to scramble any attempt to work it out on my own. The puns he did because he knew how much they annoyed me." He grinned suddenly, grabbing onto another subject, "I improved on the song's melody during the fourth incarnation of this world. One of the Heroes of that time sang her spells, and she trained me on melodies. It helps me focus, so I was singing it to try and work through the harder parts of this symbol."

"How's that going anyway?" Danny asked, tapping his heel against one of the burnt markings.

"Depends. How far are you in figuring out what your sin is?"

Not that well, apparently. Danny groaned softly and walked off, waving his hand limply at the android to carry on with his work.

Caleb had been a nice distraction, but he was still no closer to figuring out the different things his friends had seen or what they had as clues to discovering his hidden sin. Danny gave the hole a half-hearted glare as he passed it by to grab an apple from Sam's fruit bowl for a snack. He plopped himself down and bit into it, thinking over all the descriptions.

He had seen everyone lying dead on the stage; Tucker saw everyone destroying technology. Sam had seen Caleb giving him cook's clothes to wear but didn't say what the others had been doing. Jazz and Valerie both declared that they had all been hypocrites, but what did that mean? How were they hypocrites? And Caleb's was the most bizarre of all, claiming that everyone had been turned into angels. What did all that have in common with Danny's sin?

And looking into the hole through the underside didn't do anything, just had him poke up into the light half. Only looking into the hole from this side triggered those illusions. Danny scowled, taking another, more vicious, bite of the apple. This was just too hard! Nebilim made things simpler, scaling back on the size of the level and the things in it, but doing it that way made it all really hard to understand!

"Hey, Sam." he finally spoke to the Goth, and she grunted softly to let him know she was listening, "What else did you see in there?"

"Jazz was decking herself out in fur coats, Valerie set up some new popularity system where ghost hunters were the cool people, and Tucker was blackmailing people with webcam pictures he took after hacking their systems." she returned in a bored tone, "The usual contemptuous, conniving, hypocritical, corrupt and blatant abuse of power and knowledge. Oh, and you guys were voting Republican." Danny stared at her and she rolled her eyes up at him. "Hey, you asked. That's what I saw, besides Caleb smothering you in cook's clothes and you just standing there with that bubble-head Paulina on your arm." she pointed out dryly and went back to taking notes, "Why? You figure something out?"

"Following a hunch. Was the floor dark?" Danny pressed and she rolled her eyes.

"I didn't check and there is **no** _way_ I am sticking my head back in there just to see." she returned dryly and blinked as the halfa coasted for the hole again, "Danny? What are you doing?"

"I want to take a good look around that other side! I've still got the Fenton Phones, so I'll keep touch with those!" he exclaimed and dove into the hole, letting it swallow him up as Sam cried out in alarm.


	31. Chapter 31

A/N: Last fully written chap before I have to work some more at it. Danny's Trial is a bit on the tough and confusing side.

* * *

31

.

The other side of the stage was as silent as ever. Danny felt the shift of directional change around him and let the part of him that was more ghost than human control his balance. It was almost instinct, and there was only the faintest bit of disorientation on his part as he reassigned which way was up in his mind. The swirls of green around the stage remained as bright and vivid as in the light half. He had bumped into the other Fenton Thermos when he came through the hole, and it bobbed back into place as he rubbed his head, glaring at it.

Huh, that's weird. Danny took a closer look at it, noticing that this Thermos now had a crack in it running down its side much like the Thermos in the light stage. He tapped a fingertip against it, but it only bobbed and wobbled in place too.

Keeping that in mind for later, Danny pushed off from the stage and floated over to see his friends, dreading the close-up encounter. They were all face-down on the floor, sprawled in limp heaps, but there were no visible injuries, no pools of blood or anything gruesome like that. It was as if they just dropped dead where they'd been standing. Grimly, Danny decided that he preferred that kind of death for them all, if he was forced to decide on anything in that manner. He touched down by his sister, gingerly reaching out to brush her hair back from her shoulders, the orange strands had swirled around her, free from the headband she usually wore.

He checked each of them, Tucker, Valerie, Sam. They all looked untouched, unharmed, just very pale and very still. Sam's lip-gloss even looked perfect, like she touched it up just before whatever killed her hit. Danny's hands shook and he swallowed down the urge to throw up again, relying more and more on that ghostly cold detachment to shield him, distance him from the pain of thinking that this could very well be their future. He wouldn't let this happen, no way. And if he couldn't, he knew Caleb would prevent it. Magic worked awesomely on humans, and he could kick them all out with the Eternal Sword Pin if things _really_ went to hell.

Thinking of the android reminded Danny that he hadn't taken a look at the redhead on this side of the stage. A quick flitting over the stage had him floating by Caleb, trying not to think of him as the real one when studying how the fork was just speared right through him. Compared to how the rest of the gang died, Caleb's end was pretty violent.

"Guy's pretty hard to kill in the first place." he mumbled to himself, "Ripping out the System's the only surefire way to do it." He touched down, dropping to one knee and reaching out to grab onto the fork's wooden handle. It seemed sturdy and he gave it a little tug, wincing at the sound of metal scraping metal. He let it drop, already feeling guilty that he disturbed the body that way.

He noticed the markings on the floor, how they looked different from what he remembered. Something seemed off about them. Danny reached out and traced his fingers along one of the curves, puzzling it out.

This was the dark stage, which meant it was the side facing down from the light stage. When he flew under it to investigate it, he found the bottom half of a symbol that Caleb couldn't match to anything because it was only half. They looked at the light stage from above and found the top half of the symbol, but it was skewed and scrambled. Caleb spent his time sitting on that side of the stage, looking at the scrambled symbol, and Team Phantom spent their time on the other side, on the unmarked half of the stage.

On this dark side, the positions were the same. Caleb lay on the marked half of the stage, Team Phantom on the unmarked half.

Something still felt wrong.

_"Danny? Everything okay down there?"_ Sam called over the Fenton Phones. He jumped, startled by her voice, and spun around to see if the Sam on the dark stage had anything to do with it. Nope, still lying there. _"Danny? Can you hear me?"_

"Yeah... yeah, I hear you." he breathed out, one hand clapped over his heart as he felt it race under his palm, "Geez, you scared the hell outta me!"

_"Sorry. You hadn't called in, so I started getting worried."_ the Goth admitted sheepishly, _"So! What's down there? Are we still dead?"_

"Um, yeah. Yeah, you're pretty dead." Danny returned, feeling just the littlest bit creeped out by how casually she said that. Maybe it was a Goth thing? "Listen. Something about this stage is jiving wrong with me. I'm coming back up to double check things."

_"We'll be waiting!"_

The Fenton Phones went silent then and Danny nodded to himself, turning to dive back into hole and leave behind the death-filled stage.

* * *

"This side's left, this one's right." Danny blurted as soon as he touched down on the light stage. The other teens looked away from what they were doing to stare at him incredulously. Tucker stopped his typing just long enough to give him that puzzled look, then his head bent back to his work.

"Excuse you?" Valerie questioned, lifting an eyebrow at him, "What are you talking about?"

"I need this place marked out in my head, but without proper directions, I'm gonna get confused." Danny went on, striding over to Caleb and pulling the fork from his back, the android yelping in surprise at the motion.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing with that?!" the redhead demanded, scrambling to his feet.

"This side's left. Left is where Caleb's been sitting all this time, okay?" Danny ordered, tapping the end of the fork against the stage where the distorted marks were burnt. He walked over to the other half of the stage, near the campsite, and turned the fork over, using the prongs to scratch out a large 'X' onto the wood. "This side's right. Right is where we've been hanging out."

"_Raven!_ You don't use the Wonder Fork for **that**!" Caleb cried in horror, pulling a double handful of hair free from his ribbon, "How am I gonna explain the damages to the next Wonder Chef?!"

"Go with me on this, okay?" Danny sighed harshly and shot Tucker a look, "Tuck, you still have that mini-cam headset? I'm gonna need that." While the techno-geek dove for his pack, digging through the collection of gadgets and devices he'd dragged along, Danny crooked a finger at Valerie. "Valerie, Caleb, come with me. I need you two to see this part." he added and flew over the edge of the stage, flipping over to land on the underside, the dark half that was still vacant.

"I think he's gone out of his mind." Valerie sighed, clacking her heels and bracelets together to activate her Red Huntress gear as Caleb's wings flared open and lifted him from the stage to flutter down below. She followed on her hover board, glaring up at the phantom as he jogged across the underside of the stage, the fork still in his hands. "You know I don't like you using those ghost tricks." she added in irritation, planting her hands on her hips.

"Give me back that fork!" Caleb cried, rushing after Danny as the boy scratched out another 'X' on the dark wood.

"This side's left, okay?" he told the two of them as they joined him under the stage, "You saw how we came down here and this half of the stage doesn't have the markings, right?" Huntress and angel nodded in unison. "Directly above us is where Caleb's been staying, unscrambling that symbol." Another nod. Danny pointed the fork past the other beam of light and its Thermos. "Over there, on that half, is the marking we first saw. That's the right side. Directly above it is where we've been hanging out."

"All right." Caleb growled out between his teeth, snatching the fork back from Danny's grasp, "We **get** that. What's your point?"

"You'll see." Danny returned, flying back out and around to the light half of the stage, "Tucker! Is the camera ready?" He touched down near the boy, holding out his hands as Tucker tossed the headset towards him.

"Online and streaming." the technophile told him, typing away at the laptop as a window popped open, displaying the video from the camera in Danny's hands. Valerie and Caleb landed by them as well, looking over his shoulder at the screen.

"What's going on?" Jazz questioned, confused by the sudden flurry of activity. Sam shrugged.

"Danny must have caught on to something." she remarked, "Hopefully it's the break we need to solve this whole thing. I don't want to stay here any longer than we have to. Nebilim's set this level up this way for a reason, and the sooner we get out of it, the better chance of us messing with whatever he had planned."

Danny slipped the headset on, securing it in place while removing the Fenton Phones. Since the device had a microphone and earpiece already on it, the Phones weren't needed and he stuffed them into his pocket, next to the Key Crest.

"Testing, testing. Tucker, am I getting through?" he spoke into the mouthpiece resting just in front of his chin.

"Yeah, we're picking you up on this end." Tucker agreed, blinking as Caleb knelt by him and turned the laptop towards himself.

"I told you not to try opening a direct link to me." the android grumbled, reopening the window that Tucker had been working in and typing away rapidly, "You don't know how magitechnology operates, and my systems are one of a kind. You keep stabbing into my head and it'll be a miracle I come out of this adventure with my mental faculties intact."

"What are you doing?" Valerie asked, watching his hands move with some amount of awe.

"Stabilizing this stupid little link Tucker tried to set up. You tried bulldozing in like a train wreck; I'm just opening a window to let you peek in. Read-only; nobody's allowed to screw with my memories anymore." Caleb returned dryly, "Wren got away with it once, and that's already too many times in my book." He winced suddenly, hands yanking away from the keyboard to clutch his head. The teens around him gave small cries of alarm, but he shook his head, still holding it. "I'm fine. I've patched the video feed into myself so I can see what Raven's looking at. Just disorienting to have a new source of data dumping into me like that." he muttered, "What's your frequency?"

"One oh two point seven." Tucker reported, pulling the laptop back, "Radio wave. Why?"

"Does that connect to the Fenton Phones too?" Caleb asked, retying his hair in its usual ponytail. The boy nodded, puzzled. "Okay. I'll tap into that too." he murmured and pressed a fingertip to his mouth before speaking again. _"Can you hear me?"_

"Oh, that is wicked cool!" Tucker exclaimed, lighting up as he watched Caleb's mouth move, no sound coming from him, but his voice carried through clearly from the laptop and -from the way Danny suddenly yelped and slapped a hand over his ear- the headset as well. "What's your vocal range?"

_"Not now! Raven, you're clear to go. What are you planning?"_ Caleb returned in exasperation.

"I'm hoping the marks I made carry over." the halfa muttered, floating over to the hole again, "Or at least that I'm still facing the same way when I cross over. Remember, guys; Caleb's on the left, the rest of you are on the right. Caleb, pay close attention to the marks."

_"Will do."_

And Danny dropped into the hole, feet first, watching his friends look back at him as he vanished from their sight again.

* * *

Nothing had changed. Danny righted himself in place as he took in the sight of his friends lying in the same sprawled positions. So they stayed on that side after all, even though this stage was dark. He glanced at the floor. It was unmarked.

_"Oh, that's just sick."_ Valerie's voice came on through the headset and Danny jerked in surprise.

"Val?" he questioned, "Who gave you Fenton Phones?"

_"Nobody. I plugged the frequency into my suit."_ she returned dryly, _"And as soon as you come back here, I'm plugging a hole in your head. You jerk, you killed us there!"_

"You remember yesterday, right? How I puked all over the place because of this?" Danny sighed harshly, irritated by her attitude shift, "Everyone saw something they didn't like. You ever think that, maybe, this is what I **don't** like?" There wasn't an answer to that, and Danny rolled his eyes before turning around to the other half of the stage. "I'm about to head left. The markings are over here."

_"Wait a second. If this is the dark stage, the underside of this stage, why is the half-symbol on the wrong side?"_ Caleb questioned in surprise, _"You're going where I usually stand; directly below that is blank."_

"Yeah, that's what was jiving wrong with me." Danny agreed, walking over to stand on the burnt lines, sweeping his gaze over it so the camera could capture everything, "You guys seeing the lines?"

_"Some of them. You're gonna have to get higher to get the whole image in."_ Tucker reported, _"What's that stuff on the floor? Looks like glitter."_

"That? That's from the Caleb on this side." Danny muttered and groaned softly, smacking the heel of his hand against his forehead, "Ah, crud. His body's blocking some of the marks. I'm gonna have to pull him aside before I can zoom out."

_"How is he?"_ Sam asked him, and he could hear her tap at something, probably Tucker's keyboard.

"Like everybody else on this side, Sam." Danny grumbled, massaging his temples, "Dead."

_"You sure? He's taken some pretty hefty beatings before and managed to scrape by. He might just be badly damaged."_ Jazz remarked hopefully and Danny turned his head to aim the camera at the redhead, sending off the feed of the fork embedded in the half-curled figure.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's dead here, Jazz." he retorted waspishly, ignoring the multiple yelps of surprise coming through the earpiece.

_"Where's my box?"_ Caleb asked and Danny wondered just how jaded the guy had to be to not even remark on seeing himself lying dead on that floor.

"What box?"

_"The Soul Stone's box. If my bag's been torn open there, my box should be out nearby, seeing how everything else of mine's been scattered like that."_

_"Good Lord, you're seeing yourself skewered on your giant fork and you're worried about that box?"_ Valerie demanded in the background, her voice faint in the earpiece.

_"I've been told before that my priorities are skewed. There's your proof."_ Caleb shot back.

Danny ignored them, searching around the area and digging through the remnants of the travel bag, pushing aside papers and trinkets. Books, journals, cards, stones, he gathered them up and stashed them on the bag itself, dragging it out of the left half of the stage. He cleaned up the other scattered papers, bringing them back to add to the pile.

"I didn't find it." he finally sighed and flipped the camera up before heading over to the dark stage's Caleb, struggling to pull him, fork and all, out of the left half.

_"That's not good."_ the redhead muttered, _"I'm checking the Soul Stone. Let me know when you're going to record the symbol."_

For a moment, Danny wondered just how much therapy he was going to need after this. Then he sighed, hung his head, shook himself off and went back to dragging the other Caleb out of the way.

"Hey, do I just leave the fork in him or what?" he asked, pushing off from the stage to rise over it and get the full image of the half-symbol.

_"Leave it. We don't have the time to waste."_ Caleb replied grimly, _"This level's draining our Soulfire."_

"What?" Danny cried in alarm, sliding the camera back down and clicking it into place, "But we've been camped! It's not supposed to run down while most of the party's in one place!"

_"If this place is supposed to be a replica of the Ghost Zone, then that might be the rule for the level."_ Sam pointed out in concern, _"The Zone's full of pure ectoplasm, and the Soulfire is pretty much pure mana, and we've already seen how Caleb's spells are pretty much useless against our usual ghosts, just like how Valerie's ecto-rifle blast bounced off of you when you had _Barrier_ on. Mana can't touch ectoplasm and ectoplasm can't touch mana. This might be how the real Ghost Zone would react to something that has a lot of mana in it, so the level is reflecting it by draining the Soulfire."_

_"Or Nebilim's just doing it because I won't give him what he wants."_ Caleb grumbled, _"If **I** don't know what the Ghost Zone does to mana and magic, **he** sure as hell won't either."_

"Camera's back on the image. Caleb, you seeing this?" the halfa returned, a faint feeling of panic crawling over him.

_"Yes. I've got the image."_

"Good. See if it matches the symbol on the underside of the stage out there." Danny told him shortly, dropping down to land on the dark flooring, "I'm coming back." He touched down, then cried out as a blast of something, some kind of light, suddenly flew at him, hit him right in the chest and threw him across the stage.

_"Danny! What was that? What happened?"_ Jazz cried in alarm, _"Are you okay?"_

"You're not leaving. Not until I get that Key Crest for Lord Nebilim." a familiar voice remarked snidely. Danny pushed himself up from the floor, one hand pressed to his head in a lame attempt to calm the pounding that rattled it. Once that settled a bit, he turned to glare at whatever attacked him, hand charging up for a Ghost Ray. He halted, eyes wide, once he saw the figure step up from seemingly out of nowhere. "What's the matter?" Danny Fenton asked him with a grin, cold and cruel on his face as he stood there before the halfa, "You look like you've seen a ghost."

* * *

"Danny Fenton?" Valerie blurted out in shock, gaping at the video feed on Tucker's laptop, "What's he doing here? I thought he was back in Amity Park!"

"He is! That's a fake!" Jazz managed to stammer out, eyes wide as she clutched her hands together, "Danny! Get out of there!"

"How the heck did he attack that ghost?" Valerie went on, baffled, "He's not armed!"

"Caleb! Magic boost! Now!" Sam yelled, reaching out to grab the redhead's sleeve and tugging at it insistently. He yanked his arm back and stood up, holding the Wonder Fork forward.

"All right, all right! Let's see if it travels through the radio!" he exclaimed, the light blooming at his feet, _"Defend him from the blows of the enemy! Barrier!"_

* * *

Danny scrambled to his feet as a prism of light bloomed around him, closing in and fading to leave a blue aura over his body. For a second, he panicked, unsure of what was happening, and then he realized that the camera was still on his head, still running. The rest of the gang must have seen what was happening and Caleb cast a supportive spell for him. Good, because seeing his human self standing there with that twisted smile on his face was scaring the crud out of him.

"Who are you? What do you want?" he yelled at the other teen, who remained standing there, hands in his pockets.

"I already told you. I'm here to take that Key Crest to Lord Nebilim." Fenton returned, "Hand it over, and this level will stop draining the Soulfire." Danny narrowed his eyes, hands tightening into fists at the other boy's words. "Your little friends will be able to live a while longer. You might even get them out of this part of the Book. But one way or another, we're claiming that Crest."

"Fat chance of that." the halfa growled, launching a double blast of the Ghost Ray at him, the Fenton boy rolling aside to dodge.

_"Hey! Don't attack him! He's the Fenton kid!"_ Valerie yelled into his earpiece.

"That's not him! Trust me!" Danny snapped back, "Now stop distracting me!" He launched another several bursts, pelting the stage with the altered ghost power while Fenton dodged each attack easily before lashing a hand towards him. Another blast of light shot forward from the raven-haired boy and slammed into Danny, sending the half-ghost skidding across the floor again.

_"What is that? What's he shooting at you?"_ Sam breathed in shock, _"That doesn't look like anything... familiar."_

Danny pushed himself back up, the spell's protection numbing the pain of impact by a little. What was this? A pre-Trial? He didn't even know what his sin was; how was **this** fair? He caught a glimpse of another blast of light coming his way and he threw out a hand, projecting a shield to deflect the attack. It slammed up against the glowing green wall and dissipated, giving Danny the chance to get to his feet and peer past his shield. It looked like the other teen was using something, holding something small up before himself, between his thumbs and index fingers. The blast had come from that thing. What was that?

"Guys! Zoom in on what he's got in his hand! He's using it to fire those magic bursts!" he called out.

_"Got it. Magnifying... holy crud! Danny!"_ Tucker cried in alarm, _"It's the Eternal Sword Pin! That fake Danny Fenton's using Caleb's Pin!"_

"How the heck can he do that?" Danny exclaimed, sweat breaking out over his forehead as he shifted his weight on his feet in preparation for launching into the air, "Jazz said that she couldn't touch it! Nobody's supposed to be able to touch that Pin!"

_"Only those with the right to hold the Eternal Sword or the Pin can handle it and use it."_ Caleb murmured grimly, _"I have the right by Origin and Martel. The only way anyone else can use it is if I passed that right to them."_

Another blast came at him and Danny rolled aside, throwing up another shield to keep him covered as he made his way to the hole in the center of the stage.

"Absolute power in my hands!" Fenton called out with a malevolent laugh, "It was easy to use the trust and friendship of others to get what I wanted, and with it I'm able to get anything! Does this reflect the desires of your heart? I think so!" He flipped the Pin into the air, letting it shine as it spiraled over him. "Think about it carefully; the power of being an angel, and the power of the Eternal Sword Pin. All you have to do is surrender the Key Crest and join us! Lord Nebilim will be _waiting_~!"

Danny slid across the last few feet to the hole in center stage, slipping in with a gasp as the change in direction disoriented him again. He shut his eyes against the spinning, falling against the wood of the stage and curling up in a tight ball. He huddled further when he felt the others gather around him, picking him up, checking his limbs for injury, then finally relaxed and went limp, opening his eyes to look up at their worried expressions. Valerie wasn't among them, sitting back at the laptop with Caleb, the android gazing off into the distance again.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt, right?" Sam asked of him once the huddle of teens backed off a bit to give him breathing room.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Bruised up, but I can handle that." Danny returned, pushing the headset off to run his hand through his hair, "Wow. I wasn't expecting that." He paused before looking up at his friends grimly. "I wondered why I didn't see myself the first couple of times there." he added, "That screwed up version of me; I bet he tricked that other Caleb into giving him access to the Pin, and then used it to kill them all. But why?"

"It's gotta be connected to your sin." Jazz muttered, "What sin would have you taking advantage of someone's trust and betraying your friends for your own gain?"

"Raven." Caleb called out suddenly and the group turned their heads collectively to look towards him, "I've assembled the symbols and translated it."

"This'll be educational." Valerie mused with a grin, "So what is it?" Danny scrambled to his feet, pushing off to fly to the android with wide eyes. Caleb brought out his journal again, opening it to a blank page and plucking out his quill pen to sketch the complete and unscrambled Trial symbol on the paper. Once he was done, he set the pen aside and held it up to show the halfa.

"It's angelic." Caleb told him quietly, "It means 'corruption'. The Trial will be called The Corrupted. **This** is your sin."

Danny stared at the page, feeling like all the blood in his head just rushed out to sink into his stomach. It would explain why he was suddenly feeling so sick and queasy. And yet... he couldn't deny it. He'd faced down Dan Phantom and beaten him, his ultimate enemy, but he still held the fear that somehow, someday, he'd slip from his path as a hero. Something would sway him, and he'd turn into some cruel and evil overlord or whatever. That was why the illusion version of himself crowed over the Pin in his hands.

"Yeah." he agreed hoarsely, throat dry as he sat back, unable to care enough to stay afloat, "That's it all right. That's my sin."

* * *

The teens ate in silence, a light meal of sandwiches and water, while Caleb stood before the Fenton Thermos in consideration. Danny had chosen not to eat, still feeling sick at the idea of his sin being something like corruption. He'd thought he had gotten over it, but it was obvious that he hadn't at all. He floated by the android, gazing at the Thermos as well.

"Now that we know what the symbol should be, the next problem is getting the symbol pieced together here, in the level." Caleb told him quietly, "I can engrave the proper half of the symbol onto the stage, but we need to flip this whole platform in order for it to work. That way, we'll have the bottom half that's already inscribed, and a blank space on the top half where I can engrave the rest of the symbol."

"Yeah, I know. And we don't have much time." Danny agreed, rubbing the back of his neck, "This level's draining the Soulfire and we can't afford to lose more of it. Our lives are tied to that and we need enough to burn the Book." He gestured back towards his friends, "The fake me said that the level would stop doing that if I handed over the Key Crest." Caleb snapped a frightened expression towards him, eyes wide.

"You didn't, did you?" he blurted in alarm, stepping back from the halfa. Danny shook his head. "Oh, thank Martel..." he sighed, one hand pressed to his forehead, "Maybe we're better off destroying the Cruxis Crystal anyway."

"Hey, why do you think the Fenton Thermos is cracked here and not on the underside of the stage?" the halfa posed instead, ignoring the teacher's words in favor of giving the Thermos a sharper look. Caleb made a faint sound of exasperation, shaking his head.

"It might represent the containment of your supposed 'corruption'. The Thermos is meant to hold in things you don't want loose, and you don't want the sin of corruption running loose in your heroic path, the light side, if you will." he replied, spreading his arms out to encompass the stage, "That's represented by this light colored stage." He ran a finger up the crack in the Thermos. "The damage here means you're suspecting flaws in your armor, in your determination to be a hero unswayed by the desires for power and such things." he went on, "The darker stage underneath is the dark side of your potential, the chance that you may make the choices to become a villain. Its flawless Fenton Thermos is a reinforced armor, symbolizing the dark side's ability to quell and contain heroic impulses with ease."

Danny stared at him, mouth open. Caleb noticed after a moment and blinked, puzzled. "What?"

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?!" the halfa shrieked in frustration and the android scowled back at him.

"I already told you! I told all of you!" he exclaimed, throwing up his hands, "This is **not** _**my**_ Trial! If I told you this from the beginning, you wouldn't learn to see it and overcome your sins yourself!"

"Man!" Danny grumbled, grabbing the Thermos from within the beam and pulling it out, "Makes me wish that you **did** have a Trial of your own, if only to knock you off that high horse of yours!" Caleb only rolled his eyes, shaking his head as the phantom flew off to the dark stage underneath them. If the Thermos on the light stage was cracked, and the Thermos in the illusionary dark stage was also cracked, then maybe that was another clue to show him how to reveal the symbol. He'd swap the two Thermoses and see what happens. Hopefully, nothing too drastic.

Underneath the light stage, Danny grabbed the second Fenton Thermos from within the beam of light, replacing it with the cracked one. That done, he flew back up to the topside, touching down before the beam and tossing the whole Thermos into the light.

The stage shuddered suddenly and the teens jumped to their feet, alarmed by the shaking. Caleb took to the air, wings flapping as he looked around in confusion before realization dawned on him and his expression went neutral, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. Splotches of shadows bloomed on the surface, swallowing the light wood and replacing it with the darker colored planks from underneath the stage. Danny floated off the platform, watching with wide eyes as the distorted half-symbol vanished from the stage, wiped away by the transformation. New lines carved themselves out from under the feet of the other teens, Jazz, Sam, Tucker and Valerie all dancing about wildly, trying to stay balanced. A flash of light, and the half-symbol was complete. Caleb grinned, pulling out a sheet of paper that had the completed symbol, holding it between his fingers as he plucked the Pin from his jacket.

"My turn!" he exclaimed, dropping out of the sky to land on the unmarked half of the stage, _"Eternal Sword Pin! Carve the remnant of this symbol of angelic writing upon the unholy wood and reveal the sign of the Trial!"_ He slapped the paper down onto the platform, pressing the twin swords against it. A burst of light radiated out from the Pin, cutting into the stage's unblemished half and leaving black lines in its wake, burning the missing half of the symbol.

Finally, the shaking ended and things calmed down. The teens steadied themselves, breathing sighs of relief before turning a collective glare on Danny.

"What the hell was that?!" Sam yelled up at him, "A little warning would have been nice!"

"You spilled water all over me! Danny, you owe me a new shirt!" Jazz added in, shaking a finger at her brother in scolding.

"Dude! Shakes are not good for tech!" Tucker shouted, hugging his laptop protectively.

"Good Lord, why do you people hang out with the ghost kid again?" Valerie sighed in exasperation, "It's a miracle you're still alive!"

"Hah! Well, there's the Trial symbol." Caleb declared, getting up from his crouch and replacing the Pin on his lapel. He gestured out over the platform. "Whenever you're ready, Raven. And please be quick. Soulfire is still being drained."

"Got it!" the halfa exclaimed and touched down, dropping gracefully onto the platform and placing an open hand against the etchings on the floor. The symbol lit up, a massive glow shining from the lines carved into the wood. Scrambling to pack up their things and set them aside for safety, the teens assembled themselves for the inevitable combat that would soon come.

_"Fear rules your life and twists your words and actions."_ the soft voice began as Danny stood up, hands clenching into fists as he tilted his head, listening carefully to the recital of his sin with a determined expression, _"Fear of others, fear of yourself, and fear of what is yet to come; this corruption taints you little by little, festering in your heart. The darkness inside will **never** fade."_ He stiffened, and the gazes of the teens behind him focused right on him, he could feel it. _"Will you face your fears?"_

"What is this?" Valerie murmured in confusion, watching the young phantom standing before the beam of light with the undamaged Fenton Thermos floating within it. The ghost kid was afraid of himself? Why would that be counted as a sin?

"You can do it, Danny! We're right behind you!" Sam declared, shaking a fist in anticipated victory, "We've always got your back! Count on us!" Jazz and Tucker both pitched in calls of agreement, with Caleb spinning the fork at his side and giving the halfa a confident grin for support. Danny looked around himself, at each of his friends, and nodded, a smirk crossing his face as he turned back to face the Thermos.

"Yeah. Hit me." he answered the voice defiantly, "I beat it once; I'll do it again! And again and again and again, as many times as it takes! I will **never** be like Vlad!"

_"Then stand against your corrupted soul."_ the voice told him, and the Fenton Thermos exploded suddenly, a blast of light and wind that had the group lift their arms to cover their heads, bracing against the wind with startled cries. The light condensed, shrinking into a small glowing pulse that floated where the Thermos had been, the beam of light and the hole it shone from now gone. The teens blinked up at it, lowering their arms uncertainly as they watched the light warily.

_"Let's change it up, shall we?"_ the light suddenly remarked with a purr, shooting down to fly straight through Danny's chest. The boy cried out, stumbling as it passed out from his back and swerved in mid-air, plunging directly into Sam's body. She doubled over with a gasp, hugging herself while the light zipped on and targeted Jazz next. One after another, the light flew through each teen, causing them all to yelp and cry out in shock and surprise.

"What are you doing?!" Caleb exclaimed angrily, "This isn't how a Trial is supposed to go after the Taker admits to their sin!" He stepped back, expression shifting to alarm when the light zipped up to float before him. "Don't get me involved! I possess perfect neutrality!" he cried, lifting an arm protectively.

_"And this makes you special... how?"_ the light retorted and laughed, plunging through the android as he cried out, hugging himself tightly. It spun through the air and hovered over them, laughing still. _"Now for the main event! Let's see how much of you remains after you cross paths with the very essence of The Corrupted!"_ The light flashed again and the teens dropped to their knees, collapsing forward as, one by one, they fell unconscious. Caleb dropped to one knee, leaning heavily on the Wonder Fork as he struggled to keep the same thing from happening to him, glaring weakly up at the light shining over them.

"You're only doing this... because I created the Key Crest..." he hissed, "I won't let you... use the Crystal to make him... a vessel...!"

_"Well, duh! Pssh... stupid..."_ The Corrupted snorted, _"Lord Nebilim requires a vessel that can break the seal Ratatosk created. The halfling is perfect for that! We just have to get rid of you, the Key Crest, that blasted rock, and that miserable little Pin. Man, are **you** a pain in evil's ass! Luckily, you're going to be dealt with soon enough. So, sleep tight and sweet dreams!"_

Caleb stared up at the laughing ball of light, horrified expression melting into a drowsy one as he sagged against the fork, finally collapsing to join the others in their slumber.

* * *

Next Chapter Preview!

_"Think about it. The two strongest and most individually-minded people you know,"_ The Corrupted remarked snidely, ignoring Valerie's indignant yell over being left out, _"and they gave up things they say are valuable to them for something that was apparently far more precious to themselves, such selfish and hypocritical people."_ He chuckled as Danny shrank back, slowly descending until his boots touched the stage once more. _"Corruption lurks in every heart, and no one is immune to it. Not even the Fallen Angel, the most vile of them all..."_


	32. Chapter 32

This Chapter is un-beta'd, so any help in tweaking it would be appreciated. Constructive Criticism please, flames are not tolerated well and will be used to warm my poor hands. This mall is too cold. Thanks much and have a lovely weekend.

* * *

32

It was dark.

Danny was very quickly becoming sick and tired of seeing the dark. He had the briefest idea of boycotting evening hours before slapping it down for being pretty dumb. He'd just have to carry more flashlights on hand, that's all. But it didn't change the fact that it was dark here... wherever 'here' was.

He picked himself up, blinking at the fact that the floor was pitch black as well, his entire surroundings just black, black, black. He was pretty much his own light source. He was also alone, and Danny jolted a bit at scanning the area, unable to find anyone else. His friends, his sister, Valerie, none of them were there. What had happened?

"The Trial!" Danny exclaimed, memory catching up. The light that had come out of the Fenton Thermos, declaring itself to be The Corrupted; it had flown through everyone and it felt like a punch to the gut. But there had been something else, too, some weird feeling. He didn't quite know how to describe it. But then he felt tired, really tired, and he'd passed out and now... here he was.

"Hey~! Is anyone else here?" he called out, hands cupped around his mouth, "Jazz! Sam! Tucker, Valerie!" He waited, listened for a response, then tried again. "Caleb! What's going on?" he yelled. What kind of Trial was this?

And suddenly lights flashed on, spotlights blooming to life in rows that had Danny drop into a crouch, senses on high alert for any movement, eyes wide as he searched around again. Then a large one, right in front of him, flipped on, shining down a giant oval of light that revealed his friends standing there in a semi-circle. He felt a surge of relief at seeing them unharmed, then it washed away quickly, replaced with a sudden chill as he heard footsteps coming towards him from the shadows that remained.

He stood, tensing, waiting, as whoever was walking towards him stepped into the light. It rushed out of him in surprise, seeing Caleb stand there casually, almost too casually, humming to himself as he brushed stray hair back behind his ear.

"Welcome. Please state your desire." the android remarked, giving Danny a small smile, that same kind of smile Danny had seen on the faces of car salesmen who really, really wanted to sell off the junker in back but they weren't gonna say it was a junker.

"Huh?" Danny answered, confused.

"Please state your desire." Caleb repeated. The halfa scratched his head, giving him a strange look. "I've been ordered to grant you any desire you may have, in exchange for small prices. So to fulfill my function, please state your desire."

This was new and bizarre. Danny didn't quite know what to make of it. On top of that, Caleb sounded weird and, well, robotic. It was still his voice, Danny could still make out his personality in the tones, but it was like he was a puppet now, just parroting words that were put in his mouth.

"I'm so kicking Tucker for brain-jacking you." he grumbled.

"Is this your first desire?" Caleb questioned and Danny stared at him in disbelief, shaking his head quickly. "Please state your desire."

"How about for you to quit talking like that?" Danny snapped at him, "You sound like a bad tune on repeat!" Caleb nodded.

"As you wish. In exchange, remove all the stones from your armlets that are not White Quartz." the android told him and Danny blinked at him before lifting one wrist to look at the metal band. Oh yeah, he'd slapped a bunch of stones into it when fighting The Enraged and not all of them were white. Would taking out the other colored ones really make Caleb act more like himself again?

"Um... okay?" he muttered and picked out the red and violet pieces of quartz from both armlets, stuffing them into his pocket for lack of a better place to put them. Caleb nodded and grinned.

"All right then! What's next on your list?" he asked and the boy gave him an incredulous look, "I'm supposed to be giving you what you want, remember?" Caleb sighed, shaking his head, "Come on, it's a simple exchange system. Not that hard to understand, even for you."

"You're saying if I want something, I have to give you something to pay for it?" Danny asked suspiciously. What kind of trade was this?

"Not **pay** for it, per se. More like, quid pro quo. Something for something." Caleb replied brightly, lifting his hands in an innocent shrug, "I scratch your back if you scratch mine. Pretty easy, right? So, what would you like next?"

Danny glared at him, then looked over at his friends, the group still standing there and looking at him with vacant expressions. Nodding to himself, he turned back to the android.

"I want my friends back to normal." he told Caleb. The redhead rubbed the back of his neck, wincing.

"Oh, wow. Big one right off the bat." he murmured, "All right. I can restore them to their true selves." Danny grinned and he held up a finger, waving it at him with a click of his tongue, "Ah ah ah, hold your horses, Ghost Boy. You have to give something up in exchange." Caleb hummed to himself in thought, then grinned, and it didn't look as friendly as the other smiles. "How about one at a time? You don't really need them _all_, do you?" he suggested.

"Caleb!" Danny snapped, taken aback by his words.

"I'm just _saying_." the redhead sighed, shrugging again as if he were the one trying to be reasonable, "Let's say I restore Jazz. Think you can give up your CD collection for her?" Danny blinked, dumbfounded by the question. His CD collection was worth Jazz's safety? How the heck did Caleb come to **that** idea? Whatever happened to his 'all life is precious and valuable' schtick? "Well? CDs for Jazz? Sounds pretty fair to me." Caleb prodded, fiddling with his hair again, twisting the red strands around his fingers.

"Fine! Take them! I can get more CDs, just give me back my sister!" Danny yelled and the android flicked his hair back, snapping his fingers with a smile. Jazz gave a small jolt and stumbled forward. "Jazz!" The halfa rushed forward, hugging the older girl as she collapsed on him.

"Danny, what's... what's going on? My head feels fuzzy." she mumbled.

"It's okay. You'll be okay." the half-ghost soothed and glared back at Caleb as the android yawned.

"Next?" he asked in boredom, pulling a file out from nowhere and setting to work on his fingernails.

"What am I giving up for Tucker?" Danny growled out. That was official; this Caleb was screwed-up in the head somehow. Whatever the Trial did, it really **did** twist the guy's personality.

"Everything space-related that's sitting in your room." Caleb returned in the same bored tone, examining his nails.

"Take it!"

Caleb snapped his fingers again and Danny watched as Tucker snapped out of his trance and rubbed his head, walking away from the rest of the group to join him. "Oh, and you're not allowed to replace that. Just FYI." the android added, "Since you're stacking on with the 'restoring friends' wish, we have to add a few incidentals to even out the trades."

"How about restoring you? You're not even acting like your real self!" Danny accused, shaking a fist at him.

"**I'm** not part of the package." Caleb returned, filing the nails on his other hand with a disinterested expression, "Next."

"Valerie; what do you want for Valerie?" the halfa growled, resolving to mourn the loss of his one normal dream later. Caleb examined the nails of his other hand carefully, then slipped the file away.

"Your knowledge on the use of Fenton technology." he replied with a smirk, "You'll forget how to use any of those things, from the Fenton Ghost Portal to any bottle of Fenton Ointment." Danny's mouth dropped open in shock.

"My knowledge? You can take that right out of my head?" he cried and Caleb nodded.

"I've got the Pin, remember? Power over time and space and capable of granting just about anything I want? How do you think I'm doing any of this?" he returned and went back to fiddling with his hair again, "So, how about it? Knowledge for Valerie?"

Okay, this was getting more and more expensive, and way creepier by the minute. Danny couldn't bring himself to say 'yes' right away, not as fast as he did for Jazz and Tucker, and that made him feel horrible. He should be willing to give up anything to save his friends, that's what heroes did, right? But without the use of the Fenton's ectotechnology, he wouldn't be able to fight ghosts as easily. His abilities as a ghost hunter would drop like a rock.

"What about Sam?" he found himself saying without thinking and immediately felt like the worst kind of scum for skipping his former almost-girlfriend.

"She's the priciest of the bunch. You sure you want her?" Caleb returned with a grin, eyes all but shining with glee, and Danny could've sworn those were little devil horns peeking out from under all that red hair.

"If I wanted Sam back, what would I have to give up?" the halfa ground out angrily.

"Your ghost powers." Caleb told him cheerfully, "Give up being Danny Phantom and she'll be restored, good as new!"

Danny stiffened, anger surging through him. That did it. That was the clincher. If there was one thing he would have to say he knew for certain about Caleb, it was that he took protecting Heroes seriously enough to qualify as a crazed up fruit loop himself. He wouldn't dare remove a single one from the world; it was his job to protect them, guide them, and keep them from falling to the darkness. To tell him to give up his role as a Hero to rescue one friend went against Caleb's grain. His priorities -screwed up as they were- would willingly sacrifice that one friend to preserve Danny's Hero status.

"No." he growled.

"Suit yourself. Next?" Caleb remarked, going back to the bored tone and expression as he examined his fingernails again.

"No! No next! No **anything**!" Danny declared, setting Jazz down and standing to face the android fully, "I've had enough of Nebilim sending fake Calebs after me! You're trying to take me apart bit by bit, aren't you? Sacrificing pieces of who I am, what I am... I'm not doing it anymore!" He pointed an accusing finger at the redhead, who now looked mildly affronted by Danny's words, "You're The Corrupted! That's what you meant by how much of us would be left! You're trying to strip our selves to nothing!"

_"Drats. Found out by the Trial-Taker already."_ The Corrupted sighed through Caleb's mouth, _"You're beginning to become just as annoying as the Fallen Angel. Your only saving grace is the fact that Lord Nebilim demands you as his vessel."_ The redhead smiled suddenly. _"Well, even though you've found out what I was doing here, that doesn't mean you've won. I still have three of your party under my influence, so I'm still drawing plenty of Soulfire."_ he added in a purr, _"If you can't pin me, you can't beat me!"_

And the world exploded into light.

* * *

Danny came to with a start, jerking up from the floor in time to see Caleb, the real one, crash against the floor and roll aside several feet before scrambling back up, Wonder Fork held tight in his hand. The pulsing light that had flown through them all zipped after him, laughing.

"Oh, finally!" Tucker exclaimed and the halfa turned over to stare at his friend. The technophile crouched next to his laptop, Lens gun in hand as he took potshots at the light. He sighed and looked back down at Danny, "That thing put us all to sleep and started messing with us in our dreams. Caleb and I broke out of it at about the same time." He set the gun down and typed quickly at the laptop before turning back to the halfa. "Was the Trial also trying to convince you to give stuff up for other stuff?" he asked.

"Yeah. I called him out when he pretended to be Caleb and told me to give up being Danny Phantom in exchange for..." Danny trailed, blushing suddenly, "Know what? Never mind. Can we wake the others?"

"I tried waking **you**!" Tucker exclaimed, hunching his shoulders and wincing as the light flitting around fired a pulse that threw the android backwards against the wood with a cry, "Ouch. Hang on." He turned and typed rapidly into the laptop again. "Damage control." he explained when Danny gave him a puzzled stare, "Caleb opened a narrow channel into himself and I've been helping reroute his damages. We don't want another Over-Limit Mode."

"Well, not if it's Avenger. Savior sounds like it'd be useful about now." Danny remarked, rolling his eyes as he turned to look over the rest of the team, "So we can't wake them?"

"Nope. They've gotta shake it off themselves. Anyway, now that you mention it, we haven't seen Savior or Chosen mode yet, right?" Tucker replied, focusing on his laptop again, "I'm sending a message to Caleb; if we can fool his systems into thinking he's gained seventy percent damage without _actually_ taking the damage, maybe we can force an Over-Limit and control which mode he takes. Which should we shoot for? Savior?"

"That one makes him act more 'magical' than usual." Danny muttered and shook his head when Tucker gave him a puzzled look, "Uh... nothing. Try for anything **other** than Avenger! I'm giving that thing a piece of my mind!" he declared, shooting off and charging up his Ghost Ray, "And this one's free of charge!"

_"Radiant swords, descend from the heavens! Holy Lance!"_ Caleb declared, lashing out with the fork as multiple blades of light dropped out of the air to hit the tiny Trial. It swerved around, avoiding the blades and was blasted from the side by Danny's attack. The android blinked and turned a wide smile on the ghost boy as he flew into battle. "Raven! You broke out!" he exclaimed.

"Did you get Tucker's message?" the halfa returned, firing several more blasts at the little ball of light.

"Yes, but I'm not entirely sure if it will work." Caleb mused aloud, "I suppose we can try it. Never attempted to trick my own systems like that before." He grinned, lashing the fork to one side and spinning it in one hand. "Ah well, first time for everything, right? Tucker! Do it! I'm opening access to my control systems for three minutes!" he declared and a circle of light bloomed at his feet, _"Strike with heaven's wrath! Thunder Arrow!"_

Tucker nodded and bent back to work, typing rapidly as a window bloomed into view, displaying a schematic of the control system that calculated Caleb's damages. A percentage gauge appeared, already displaying fifteen percent from the battle.

"Okay, here we go." he muttered, picking up his PDA and connecting it to the laptop, "Uploading previous battle information..." Crossing the data feeds, Tucker patched into the current system the records of damage Caleb had accumulated in the pre-Trial and Trial battles in Valerie's level. He bit one finger, watching the gauge and waiting, hoping it would take the information as actual data.

Beyond him, Sam stirred and jolted awake, pushing herself up with a soft groan and rubbing her head. "Dammit, Danny, if you ever tell me to condemn a cow to a packing plant just to keep my hair black..." she growled under her breath before freezing in place, blinking at the battle taking place on the stage before her. Danny flew circles around the ball of light, chasing it around as he fired several Ghost Rays at it. "What the heck?"

"Sam! Go help Danny keep that thing distracted!" Tucker called out to the Goth as she got to her feet, "I'm working on Caleb's damage control systems!" The laptop chimed and he glanced down at it before cheering, thrusting both arms in the air. "It worked!"

"What?" Sam questioned, confused. She shook her head and grabbed for the dagger instead. Leave it for later; she was ticked at that Trial for messing with her head like that, "Danny! Bring it down here! I want a piece of that action!" She ran out after them, jumping when the light flew into a low arc to dodge the halfa, and slashing the dagger across it.

_"Hey! Who said you could get involved? Darn it, now I've only got two wells left!"_ The Corrupted griped, shaking from the blow and bobbing away quickly.

"Thirty percent... thirty-five percent!" Tucker called out as he watched the meter, "Caleb, how you doing over there?"

_"Demonic swords, doom thy prey to everlasting pain."_ the android murmured, lifting the Wonder Fork to point at the little Trial, _"Bloody Lance!"_ The blood red swords materialized once more, dropping over the field in an attempt to pin down the flighty ball of light. It swerved around them, shaking from the near misses, and Caleb scowled, lashing the utensil aside. "Damn thing." he muttered under his breath.

_"Bring forth punishment to the sinners! Retribution!"_ The Corrupted declared, and a ring of light rushed out from it, passing over the stage. Danny immediately dropped out of the air, crashing onto the platform and curling up in pain as a red aura formed over his body. Sam crumpled as well, gritting her teeth together as her muscles locked up, and Tucker clapped one hand over his mouth, turning green as he broke out in a sweat from sudden poisoning.

_"Root of all creation, grant us the breath of life! Revitalize!"_ Caleb called out, the wide circle of healing blooming over the entire stage. As it faded -allowing Danny the chance to stand up and resume firing the Ghost Ray from floor level- he launched straight into the next spell, _"Remove the impurities that plague these souls! Purify!"_ Light seeped into the group and both Tucker and Sam recovered from the poison and paralysis.

"Fifty percent!" Tucker called out as Jazz groaned and pushed herself up, one hand rubbing the back of her neck.

"Stupid college review board..." she grumbled and looked up in alarm, "What the-? Danny?" She grabbed the Fenton Peeler from where it had fallen by her and activated it, climbing to her feet as the device enveloped her in its protective armor. "Hang on! I'm coming!" the carrot-top yelled, running into the fray and sweeping the beam from the arm-cannon through the air to hit the ball of light zipping around wildly.

_"Ah, hell, not you too!"_ The Corrupted complained, _"Well, you still can't pin me down while I'm like this, so nyah to the lot of you!"_

_"Bar foulest magic from entering this pure soul! Anti-Magic!"_ Caleb declared, pointing the fork at Danny. Red aura now gone, the halfa took to the air again, growling as he chased after the Trial.

"Get back here and take your beating like the other Trials!" Sam yelled up at the light, shaking the dagger in a fury.

_"I don't think so."_ The Corrupted sneered back and glowed brightly, _"Disappear from this world! Judgment!"_

The level darkened as Caleb gasped in alarm, eyes growing wide. Danny looked around worriedly, then turned his gaze up in time to see a rain of light beams hurtling down towards the stage.

"Don't stand there! Run!" the android yelled, darting aside to scoop Valerie up in his arms, "Put up a shield! That's an angel spell!" His own wings flared and he gestured quickly, _"Guardian!"_

"Guys! Get to Tucker! Hurry!" Danny blurted out, rushing over to the techno-geek's side. The beams began slamming into the stage, Sam and Jazz dashing across the wood with their arms covering their heads as they dodged the rays of light that came before them. They huddled together by Tucker as Danny lifted his hands, forming a protective dome of ectoplasm over them.

One after another, in rapid sequence, the beams from _Judgment_ hit the stage, several impacting the dome and spattering to nothing against the ectoplasmic shield. Valerie came to at last, struggling as Caleb held up his own shield as long as he could, the bubble shrinking rapidly with each blast that hit. It broke just as the rain ended, the level regaining its former brightness.

"What the heck?" Valerie griped, rubbing her head as she glared out at the Trial, "That thing was posing as Mayor Masters in my head! Do you know what he tried to get me to do? He tried to have me shoot Danny Fenton in exchange for getting my dad's job back!"

"That's usually how corruption works. You sacrifice little things you think you can live without for things you really want, and then you get pressed into giving up more and more, until you're eventually giving up morals and personal values in exchange for petty things that catch your interest." Caleb muttered, glaring up at the light now convulsing in the air, "Or in the more extreme cases, your heart in exchange for power and control." The huntress blinked and gave him an askance look.

"Yeah? What'd he try to get you to give up?" she questioned and the android glared harder at the Trial.

"My name in exchange for a truly human body." he growled. Valerie blinked again in surprise.

"You like being a mechanical thing that much?" she asked and Caleb shook his head.

"No. He just happened to confuse me with someone else and got our names mixed up." he replied as the dome beside them came down, Danny rushing out with his sister and the Goth to chase after the descending Trial, "Might wanna join in now. Looks like the Trial's about to reveal its true form."

_"Ugh! How how **how** can you all have such pathetic boundaries? You're **teenagers**! You're **supposed **to be greedy and selfish little bastards!"_ The Corrupted screamed in a fury, the light shaking and swelling, growing until it finally took on a form, a familiar one, of Danny Fenton himself with brilliant green wings shining from his back. Phantom's armlets rested on his own wrists, minus the White Quartz, but his left armlet held the dark stage's Eternal Sword Pin, fitted into a carved space to keep it in place. The right held the Cruxis Crystal -or at least a good copy of it- without the ghost-themed Key Crest. Ignoring the startled gasps of the teens, the Trial pointed an accusing finger at Caleb. _"And **you**! **You're** the worst of them all! You were supposed to be the **most** selfish!"_ he snarled.

"Hey!" Caleb retaliated, glaring back at the Trial, "What part of 'This is not** my** Trial' do you still not get?" He scowled, folding his arms over his chest. "And he calls me the stupid one..."

"Why is Danny Phantom's Trial Danny Fenton?" Valerie asked in confusion, glancing aside at the others as she held her ecto-guns uncertainly, "He's not that bad of a guy, really." Sam, Jazz, Tucker and Danny all sighed in unison, glancing back with weary expressions.

"You don't wanna know." Danny remarked before focusing on the Trial again. So this was what The Corrupted really looked like? But... why Danny Fenton? His biggest worry was Phantom being corrupted and turning evil; Phantom had the ghost powers, Fenton was the little loser cover! "Give us back our Soulfire!" The Trial rolled his eyes.

_"You think I'm just gonna hand it over like that?"_ The Corrupted laughed incredulously, _"No, no, that's not how **I** work it, Ghost Boy. You want something from me, you hand something over."_

"Fine. How's this for fair trade?" Sam declared with a glare, "Blast him!" And with several angry yells, Jazz and Danny both fired up blasts of Light-infused beams at the winged Trial. Valerie cried out in shock and horror.

"What is **wrong** with you people? How can you shoot something that looks like Danny and not feel anything about it?" she shrieked at them, waving her hands -still armed- around wildly. Sam rolled her eyes with a harsh sigh.

"Um, hello? That's not the real Danny? Danny wouldn't have wings and fly around trying to kill us." she reminded the other girl, pointing up at the Trial, "That's a monster posing as Danny to try throwing us off. Now are you gonna help us beat it before our Soulfire runs out, or do you wanna wait till next lifetime?"

The Corrupted shook in the air, yelping in pain before managing to fly back and gesture before himself to cast a spell. A circle of light bloomed under the group and the teens scrambled to get out of the way as a dome of lightning began spiraling up from it. Tucker bent and wrapped his arms protectively around his laptop.

"Not my precious tech!" he wailed and blinked at the sudden chiming coming from the device. "Huh?" he muttered, surprised, and opened the laptop to study the screen, "The damage meter!" It was still counting up, tallying fake damage to fulfill the requirements to activate one of Caleb's Over-Limits. Biting his lip, Tucker set to work typing away at the windows opened on his screen. Sixty-five percent... sixty-six percent...

_"You jerks don't even know the proper rules of engagement! You're supposed to stand still for _Indignation_!"_ The Corrupted yelled, ducking with a yelp as Danny flew in from another angle and fired off a double-blast of the Ghost Ray into his back.

"Okay! I've got him! Now, Caleb!" the halfa yelled. The redhead had kept quiet during the confrontation between Trial and teens, working on his next spell. He nodded, spinning the fork before himself before halting it and lifting it up to point at the Trial.

_"From the land of the living, I call upon thee in the land of the dead to unleash thy fury of thunder!"_Caleb exclaimed, "Gonna need a little extra power for this. Hold him a minute longer!"

"It's not that easy!" Sam yelled back, bracing herself as she held on to the Jack-O-Nine Tails that tangled around The Corrupted's legs, the Trial flapping his wings hard to get loose, "Valerie won't shoot at him and we're running out of White Quartz!" Jazz growled as she kept her Fenton Peeler's beam trained on the struggling figure, chanting mentally that it wasn't her little brother, it wasn't. The real Danny was on the Trial's right side, keeping up a barrage of Ghost Rays to keep him off balance.

Sixty-eight... sixty-nine...

"Hey!" Tucker exclaimed suddenly, watching the schematic for Caleb's mana systems suddenly shift routes, increasing the amount of power. "Don't draw more power!" he yelled across the stage towards the android, "The damage meter's already-!"

_"Genis, lend me your strength!"_ Caleb declared, the circle at his feet spiraling out to form three more magic patterns, _"Indignation Judg-!"_

Seventy percent...

Tucker's laptop screen flashed red, and he flinched at the 'System Error' message that all but screamed at him. Just what he was afraid of; the damage control system kept tabs on the fake data coming in, treating it like the real thing and tweaking Caleb's inner workings to keep him functioning through it. It was what it had done in Valerie's level since the physical parts of the system were still mostly in one piece. And as long as Caleb stuck to small spells, it kept thinking that he was gaining soft damage and just moved mana into more narrow channels, away from the larger ones that Caleb usually relied on as his version of a human's circulatory system and had originally taken the bulk of the damages in Valerie's level.

"You just had to blow it." Tucker sighed miserably, typing away at the keyboard in hopes of undoing the errors. Drawing on extra mana for that big spell must have set off some kind of alert that there was bad info coming into the android's systems since Caleb had to open the larger channels to get enough mana. Faced with the conflict of channels that were **supposed** to be badly damaged now working perfectly, the alert cried foul and began to shut everything down.

Hence why Caleb suddenly halted on the last syllable of his spell, frozen in place like some full-color statue, dark eyes still glaring up at the Trial. The circles of magic flickered out and Tucker blinked, dismay passing over his face as the direct link windows all closed simultaneously.

"Danny! Caleb just went offline! I can't patch in to anything!" he shouted at the halfa as he closed the laptop and snatched up the Lens gun to join him, "We're gonna have to wait till he reboots!"

"I told you not to mess with his systems!" Danny yelled back in annoyance and glared back at his Trial as The Corrupted began to laugh.

_"Well, hey, look at that! You took him out for me!"_ the Trial declared, grinning hugely at Danny and making the teen shudder. It just seemed so wrong to see that kind of expression on his own face. _"And since we kinda, sorta had a deal, I'll give you some Soulfire to equal you guys shutting down the Fallen Angel. See? I'm not such a bad Trial after all!"_

"He's not shut down! He's just offline for a bit!" the halfa shot back.

_"Oh? Fine. Then I'll give you something **else** in exchange."_ The Corrupted returned with the same cruel smile and threw out his arms, firing a pulse that pushed back all the beams firing at him just enough to let him escape. Wings stretching out, the Trial lifted both arms over his head, crossing the Crystal and the Pin.

"Hey! What's he doing?" Sam cried, kicking her feet in the air as she was dragged up after the Trial, still gripping the Jack-O-Nine Tails that had remained tangled around his legs, "And somebody get me down! I'm tired of dangling from flying Trials!"

"How much White Quartz do we have left?" Danny shouted, glancing at his armlets as he rushed down to rescue the Goth. Jazz and Valerie glanced at one another, then popped open their respective weapons to take a look. Valerie's stone was cracking, showing signs of crumbling to bits fairly soon. Jazz, on the other hand, stared as her own piece of quartz just fell apart as it dropped out of the cannon.

"I'm out!" she sighed dismally, her brother landing by her to drop off Sam. He pulled one of the stones from his armlets and tossed it to her. She caught it, gazing at him uncertainly. "You sure? What about you?" she asked of him.

"Still got three stones on each one." Danny returned, lifting both hands as Tucker joined their huddle, Valerie jogging over after another minute of consideration made her decide on things at last. The halfa gave her a puzzled look and she shrugged.

"The real Danny Fenton wouldn't talk like that guy does. I'm in this fight to get out of here and go home!" she declared.

"Okay, then here's our plan." Danny began quickly, pulling everyone down into a huddle to whisper a plot.

_"Holy light, be the chains that bind my enemy."_ The Corrupted began to chant, drawing power from both the Cruxis Crystal and the Pin on his own armlets. On the ground, the teens winced collectively, recognizing the opening incantation.

"If that hits, it's gonna leave a nasty bruise." Valerie muttered, darting underneath the Trial and using one of her throwing discs to scratch out an 'X' on the platform, "Okay, people! Got the target!"

From Danny's end, the halfa threw out a thumb's-up and turned to Sam, Jazz and Tucker, giving them a short nod as a signal. The three teens grinned and ran out, taking up positions at three points around the chanting Trial; Valerie joined them soon after so they all stood at compass points.

_"Inescapable, insurmountable...!"_

"Geez, Caleb, how much do you weigh?" Danny grumbled under his breath as he pulled on the android's arm, slowly turning the redhead to direct his aim at the marked spot.

"Okay, that's enough of that! We've already seen _Shining Bind_!" Sam declared, pulling out the last Jack-O-Nine Tails from her pack and plugging one of Danny's White Quartz into its power chamber. She hoped that it would work like it did for Jazz and Valerie's own ecto-guns, applying the Element without the need for charms. Well, now was a good time to find out. She lashed it back to release the tails, then lashed forward, grinning fiercely as they wrapped tightly around the Trial's legs. She hit a button on the handle and energy surged through the tails, startling The Corrupted out of his spell as he shrieked in pain. "Got him! Now!" Sam yelled.

From their points, Jazz and Tucker both opened fire, driving the Trial back in the air as Sam moved, pulling on the Jack-O-Nine Tails so as to lead The Corrupted towards the marked spot on the stage. The winged boy struggled, wings flapping erratically as he tried projecting magic shields to ward off the blasts. Once the effort of the three teens had him fluttering about over the 'X', Valerie added in her own blasts, and the four of them had The Corrupted pinned down, unable to move or cast a spell.

"Danny! Hurry up! We can't hold him forever!" Jazz cried, glancing back at her brother as he made last-minute adjustments to the android.

"Aaaaand... go!" Danny declared, pointing up at the Trial. Caleb remained motionless, fork aimed at the winged figure. The halfa blinked when nothing happened and looked over at him in confusion. "Um, now? Fire away?" he prodded, reaching out to poke the android in the side of his head.

"Just use his activation code!" Tucker yelled.

"No way! I do that and he'll just interrupt his spell with that 'Welcome' whatever-it-is he says!" Danny shouted back in irritation, "We need him to wake up and finish that last part! How long till he reboots?" The techno-geek opened his mouth, ready to answer, when Caleb's eyes suddenly lit up, a soft hum of powering on running through the air.

_"-ment!"_ he finished the spell, the circles of light flickering back on at his feet. Before him, another spiral of lightning rose around The Corrupted, who yelled in fury and panic, trying desperately to break free of the Jack-O-Nine Tails that Sam held on to, legs braced to hold him in place. Once the lightning reached some predetermined height, it turned inwards and smashed down on the Trial in a violent storm of electric bolts.

"That doesn't look like _Indignation_." Danny muttered to himself as Caleb gave a small jolt of surprise beside him, looking around himself in confusion. Both of them jumped, startled, when the last of the bolts ended and a massive ornate sword of pure lightning suddenly materialized and slammed down onto the Trial, bringing it to the floor with a shriek of pain. "Geez! What is it with you and giant magic swords?" Danny asked of the android with an incredulous tone.

"When did everyone move?" Caleb returned, puzzled and scratching his head. Danny sighed, rolling his eyes before flying over to check on the downed Trial. Although the plan to bring him down worked, there was still the matter of finishing it off and really defeating it. Which brought back his first question; why was it taking the form of Danny Fenton?

"You're done now." he growled, holding one hand forward and charged up with a fully powered and Light-infused Ghost Ray, "No more trying to corrupt us."

_"You just don't get it, do you?"_ The Corrupted sneered back, pushing himself up to a sitting position, _"The darkness inside will never fade. I'm always going to be there, tempting you, whispering to you. Just use your powers for one little thing, just one little thing. Here and there, always just a little thing."_ Danny wavered, eyes widening as the blast began to flicker and die out. _"And then you'll move on to something a little bigger, a little more, until you have everything you ever wanted. All you have to do is just give up little things, things that don't even really matter in the end."_

"Danny! Don't listen to him! He's just trying to mess with your head!" Sam yelled, yanking on the Jack-O-Nine Tails, "Finish him off so we can get our Soulfire back!" The Corrupted waved a hand towards the teens, grinning widely while Danny redirected his attentions to them.

_"Would you like to know what they each gave up to have what they wanted? What they gave in to the darkness for?"_ he purred, fluttering his wings and taking to the air again, legs disentangling themselves from the Jack-O-Nine Tails as the other teens stared up at the two of them, dismay growing on their faces as they realized that the ghost boy was listening to the Trial. The Corrupted took Danny's silence to mean agreement and went on, still smiling. _"Jazz gave up ghost hunting to have her works on ghost envy published."_

Jazz flinched visibly when Danny looked her way, a questioning look on his face. "I can explain...!" she began, but was cut off by the Trial speaking again, pulling the boy's attention back to him.

_"Sam gave up an environmental charity in exchange for her parents never bothering her about what she does in her free time."_ The Corrupted went on, gesturing towards the Goth as she dropped the handle of the Jack-O-Nine Tails in shock. Danny gave her the same questioning look and she cringed.

"That's not how...!" she began to explain and was just as quickly interrupted as Jazz was by the Trial.

_"Think about it. The two strongest and most individually-minded people you know,"_ The Corrupted remarked snidely, ignoring Valerie's indignant yell over being left out, _"and they gave up things they say are valuable to them for something that was apparently far more precious to themselves, such selfish and hypocritical people."_ He chuckled as Danny shrank back, slowly descending until his boots touched the stage once more. _"Corruption lurks in every heart, and no one is immune to it. Not even the Fallen Angel, the most vile of them all."_

And the teen blinked, turning his gaze to give the redhead a questioning look. Caleb had regained his composure by then and just gazed right back, neutral expression on his face.

"Why do you keep getting me involved? This isn't my Trial." he retorted flatly, "Besides, you offered me a human body for a name that isn't mine. I'm Caleb, the Guardian Angel of Heroes; don't confuse me with anyone else." His gaze sharpened. "Because I was **never** anyone else. Lloyd and Wren both had that faith in me, even if one didn't say so until after his death. I trust them far more than I trust you or your demon king."

_"You can't escape corruption. It will always be there."_ the Trial purred at Danny again, ignoring the angelic android in favor of the halfa, _"You can only admit to it, work with it, accept it. What do you say, Danny Phantom? Care to make a trade?"_ The teen had turned away from Caleb, returning to just staring up at the Trial, brows furrowed together in a puzzled look.

"Danny, don't listen to him!" Sam declared, taking a step towards him. The Corrupted waved a hand back towards her, sweeping it over the rest of the group without even a glance at them. Magic circles appeared at their feet, and Sam froze in place, startled as she stared down at her legs. "H-hey! I can't move!"

"What is this?" Valerie yelled, struggling to pull her legs forward, "Oh come on! This is so unfair! How can we fight when our feet feel like they weigh a ton?"

_"Those with impure hearts are held down by corruption. If you really wanted to move, you'd make an offer to get out of it."_ The Corrupted sneered back at them before returning to the halfa, _"Well?"_

Danny tilted his head slightly, then turned his head to give Caleb another look, but the android only shook his head, pointing down at his own feet. Just like the teens, he was also held down by a magic circle, chained to the stage and unable to move. The halfa winced slightly; it looked like he was going to be on his own for this one. He sighed, then steeled himself, a new wave of determination washing over him.

No surprise there; the world liked to throw Danny Phantom into situations where he was left on his own to deal with things. He dealt with it. He'd faced Dan Phantom alone, he had faced Freakshow alone, he even duked it out with Pariah Dark alone. This wasn't any different. And for that, Danny was actually grateful. This was familiar territory. If no one else was fighting, it meant he wouldn't have to worry about them getting hurt.

Perfect.

"You're right." Danny finally told The Corrupted, watching it smile victoriously as his friends and sister gasped in shock, "Corruption does hide in all of us in one form or another. And yeah, I'm gonna be tempted to use my powers selfishly." He pushed off, taking to the air and surprising the Trial with his own confident grin. "But I've learned something about myself while helping my friends with their Trials, while talking with Caleb about Symphonia and their Heroes... and that's this." he pointed out while charging up the Ghost Ray in one fist. "It doesn't matter. Everyone's got that bit of darkness in them. It's what makes us human. Choosing to keep going as a hero despite that, choosing to think of others even when you want to think of yourself, beating that darkness whenever it comes up, again and again and again..." Danny smiled wider, a toothy grin that looked almost menacing on him.

"That's why you can't chain **me** down, and that's why I keep rising back up. You want me to trade something to free my friends? Fine! _I trade you!_" he declared and fired the blast directly at the Trial, who cried out in alarm and held his hands up to ward it off, "I'm not perfect! No one is! But that's fine! The day I think I'm perfect, the day I think like Vlad, that's when I've really let you win! Not today! Not _ever_! Stay down where **you** belong!"

The Corrupted let out a scream as the Cruxis Crystal and the Eternal Sword Pin on his wrists both shattered under the near-endless beam of Light-infused ghost energy. Danny concentrated, spreading his hand open to widen the blast and engulf as much of his Trial as possible with it. It seemed to work; The Corrupted's wings began trailing away as he kept shrieking, and then that tell-tale sound of a muffled explosion came, a strange crack in the air that signaled the true defeat of a monster. The Trial seemed to just dissolve in the Ghost Ray, burning away in its light until there was nothing left but a massive cloud of silvery fire hovering in the air. It swirled in place, then spiraled down around Caleb, the android holding out the Soul Stone's box, lid lifted. The cloud of flames vanished into it, sucked in like the thing was slurping up the last of a milkshake, and the lid flipped shut.

The magic circles holding down the team flickered and vanished, freeing them to gather as Danny floated down to join them, tired but still grinning. That felt awesome, taking out his sin like that, and he could use a long rest after everything that happened. His friends came close, Sam and Jazz wearing looks of self-depreciation and shame on their face.

"Danny, a-about what we were offered..." Sam began, stammering almost nervously, which was a big deal in his mind because Sam never sounded unsure of herself like that. Not since she beat The Weak, at least. Unless he really wasn't paying attention.

_'Mental note. Start paying more attention.'_ Danny thought to himself before holding up his hands. "It's okay! Really! I gave up some things, too, before I caught on to what was happening. Like I said, everyone's got their darkness. It's just how we deal with it that makes us heroes and good people, or crazed up fruit loops like Vlad."

"And quit badmouthing Mayor Masters!" Valerie declared, hands on her hips as she scowled at the halfa, "Geez, you sound like you've got some kind of personal vendetta against the man!" The trio of teens gave her a collective flat stare before promptly ignoring her in favor of watching the platform slowly transform back to its original state, light bamboo flooring with the hole in the center, light rising up from within as the unbroken Thermos came rising up with it, bobbing in the sparkling gold light innocently.

"Is that supposed to be your memento? What a cop-out." Sam muttered derisively, falling silent with a puzzled look as Danny swallowed hard and went over to the Thermos, pulling it from the light.

"No, I think my memento's inside it. Like the Trial was inside the other Thermos." the halfa returned, turning to face the group, "Everyone ready?" _'Just in case I'm wrong.'_ his mind supplied the rest of the question, but he managed a small smile at the sight of his team slipping into defensive positions. They already knew, and it looked so natural for them to instinctively set themselves up in case of attack. Part of him railed against it, yearning for the days of being a normal kid, and the four -five if he counted Valerie- of them not having to worry about ghosts and fighting and all the weirdness that came from ghosts.

Part of him felt glad for the changes; he was starting to understand himself and his friends and sister a lot more than he probably would have cared to before the accident.

Caleb didn't follow them into their defensive stance, simply knelt by their things and began pulling out the self-cooker and utensils for making another healthy meal -and Danny wondered briefly if it was lunch or dinner- while Valerie gave him an impatient look, still affronted by Team Phantom's dislike of Vlad Masters. With a deep breath, Danny opened the Fenton Thermos, feeling himself brave enough now to face anything that came from it.

There was a burst of light, and the Thermos dissolved to leave a small trophy floating in its place, shining golden like the beam it had floated in. It wasn't very big, the size of an average trophy that most clubs passed out as a pity award -they called it a participation trophy but Danny knew them for what they really were-. He noticed the little sword first, then the shield that went over it, hiding the blade and bearing his DP emblem boldly emblazoned on its face. The hilt of the sword each had a small dish dangling down on a gold chain, perfectly level with each other, like a scale. Danny reached out to fiddle with the hilt, wondering if the scales would move.

They didn't budge.

_"That which you fear will always be within you. Face it down with the courage of your heart and the love of the people around you. A true Hero is one who sees the darkness in himself, and refuses to give in to it."_ the soft voice from before spoke once Danny laid a hand on the memento, _"Your path shines bright to have such darkness. Continue to walk in light and be blessed by the Goddess."_ With that, it faded and the little trophy settled into Danny's hands, the halfa staring at it in confusion as the hole and its beam of light flickered and vanished to reveal the teleporter. How was this a reminder of his Trial and sin?

"The scales of Justice." Sam suddenly remarked and he lifted his head to see that his friends had gathered closer to him to examine the memento. She ran a finger over the edges of the shield in confusion. "I don't recall a shield being part of it though. The rest of it is easy; Justice is said to hold a sword and scales as her key items, to weigh the sides of a case and then administer justice equal to the crime." She also tested the balance, frowning at their refusal to move. "But you can't weigh anything on these scales; they won't give."

"Probably because ghosts don't believe in justice." Valerie muttered, folding her arms over her chest and glaring at Danny. Three of the teens returned it with flat glares of their own; Jazz merely studied the memento more closely, a familiar psychoanalytical expression on her face as her brows furrowed and she rubbed at her chin.

"The sin was of corruption... scales that won't budge... both sides equal... a shield before the sword..." she murmured and traced a fingertip over the emblem on the shield, "I think... I think I get it." The group turned their eyes towards her, several degrees of disbelief in their puzzled looks. She straightened, hands on her hips as she cocked her head to one side, thinking it over. "Well, okay. Like Sam said, the scales and sword represent Justice. Now what do we know about scales normally? They move; put weight on one end, it lifts the other. However, we also know that, sometimes, that scale can be compromised." she remarked and shrugged, "Bribes, blackmail, personal agenda... they can tip the scales one way or another a little and throw the whole thing off kilter. That's a corruption of justice, isn't it?"

"But these ones don't move." Danny pointed out dryly, wiggling the sword again to demonstrate how much they stayed put. Jazz nodded.

"That's right. They stay equal; you meet a crime with equal justice. No corruptions. Any attempts to tip the scale before placing a weight on it to be judged fails." she replied and looked surprised, her mouth forming a little 'o' before tapping at the hilt again, "That's what they meant by seeing the darkness in yourself and refusing to give in to it! You know you can be corrupted in various ways, but you fight against it to make sure your inner sense of justice remains level and fair! The unmoved scales represent a stand against corruption!" Danny stared up at his sister first, then down at the trophy in surprise. This represented that in himself? He felt his face grow hot, blushing.

_'Wow. And I thought I **didn't** have a high bar to reach, this thing just blasted mine to the ends of the universe!'_

"That's cool, I guess. But what's with the shield?" Tucker asked in confusion.

"It represents his defense of that uncorrupted justice." Caleb remarked suddenly from his place at the self-cooker, peering into the pot to make sure nothing burnt, "Temptations will come constantly to have Danny Phantom stray from his path, but that shield will remain in place to defend his sense of justice." He looked up at the group with a wry grin, "Lloyd hated the word 'justice', but he believed in the ideal of it with all his heart. I think he would have liked you, considering you don't use that word to cover for petty agendas."

The trophy didn't feel very heavy in Danny's hands, but the weight of the things it stood for rested right on his shoulders. Not uncomfortably, but it was a definite presence. In fact, it kind of tingled...

"Oh my gosh... Lloyd Irving!" Sam blurted out suddenly, her eyes wide, "Danny! He's right behind you!" The boy spun around, startled, and looked up to see the grinning face of the brunet in red leather clothing. When had he come back into the Book, and why?

"Hey... Danny Phantom, right?" Lloyd asked brightly, "Congratulations on beating your Trial!"

"Um... thanks?" Danny returned, at a loss for what was going on, "Why are you back in the Book?" Lloyd gave him a thin smile, and the halfa started getting a bad feeling. This wasn't a social call, not with that kind of face.

"I brought my dad with me." the brunet remarked, gesturing to the side as the air shimmered and the image of the dark-clad mercenary in the books appeared in its place, eyes closed in grim contemplation. "Everyone, this is my dad, Kratos Aurion." Lloyd introduced the group to the newcomer, "Dad, this is Danny Phantom and his friends. They're traveling with Caleb to destroy the Book of the Underworld."

Danny looked between the two in faint surprise. They really looked alike, facial feature-wise at least. He heard the gasps from his friends and turned to blink at them, puzzled. Didn't they know that Lloyd and Kratos were father and son? He looked past them at Caleb, and mentally kicked himself. That's right, they wouldn't know. Danny himself learned that from listening to Caleb talk about his life; none of them had gotten to the part in the textbooks where Kratos was revealed to be Lloyd's real father. So this was the first time the rest of Team Phantom realized it.

"Hmph. They're all children. No magic among them, save for Caleb." Kratos murmured, opening his eyes to gaze at the group staring at him in shock and awe, "Rewriting the laws governing mana's interaction with the world **would** cause this." He shifted in place, hand resting on the hilt of his sword as his gaze fell on Danny Phantom. "This one has some promise, provided he learn to manage that strange power you told me about, Lloyd."

"Hey! What about me?" Valerie protested hotly, pointing at herself, "I beat my Trial and I'm a strong ghost hunter!" She found herself flinching at Kratos's sharp glare in her direction. There was an odd frostiness in that look that she wasn't used to being directed at her; Lloyd was really this guy's son? The two were so different in personalities!

"I've heard of you as well from my son. A weapon lifted in the name of vengeance can never lead the way to peace." Kratos told her sternly and looked to Danny, seeming to soften a bit, "Taking up arms in the name of defending the defenseless is more honorable. More so if you can end a battle without the loss of lives." Danny tightened his grip on the memento in his hands, swallowing hard as he nodded.

"That doesn't tell us why you're here." Jazz pointed out firmly, her voice only slightly shaky as she stepped up beside her brother protectively, "We've beaten all the Trials. We have a lot of Soulfire and we've got Caleb to guide us. This Book and its King don't stand a chance against us."

Danny watched the two ancient heroes carefully as she spoke, and narrowed his eyes slightly at the way they glanced furtively at one another when Jazz mentioned Caleb by name. They were here about him? Why? He was perfectly fine now, wasn't he? The ghost boy turned his head to see what Caleb was doing now. Just moments ago, the redhead had been tended to the contents of the pot, seemingly oblivious to the fact that two of his old friends had just popped in. Now it looked like he'd caught on, kneeling there and staring at them in shock, a cooking spoon gripped tightly in one hand.

"I think you broke him." Tucker commented with a grin, shaking his head at Caleb's reaction. He'd looked back when Danny did, noticing that faintly suspicious look on his face that meant something was very wrong and that their little group should be on their toes.

"No." Lloyd returned almost sadly, shaking his head slowly as Kratos pressed forward, his very presence making the younger teens step aside without thinking to let him pass through, "He's already broken, he's just very good at hiding it."

"Again? I thought we had that covered with using the Eternal Sword Pin and the Soulfire to fix his damages!" Sam exclaimed incredulously, lifting a hand in that matter-of-fact pose she pulled when she was certain she had all the facts worked out in her head. She paused, blinking in surprise when Danny reached out to grip her hand, shaking his own head with a scarily grim look on his face.

"I don't think he meant broken as in like _broken_, like what happened in Welgaia." he whispered, looking back up at Lloyd as the red swordsman sighed and moved forward as well, hurrying to join his father. "Something else is up, and I think it involves those parts of Caleb's past he keeps skipping around when he tells me stories." he added, "Remember how I said he was telling me about his life, but he would jump ahead sometimes?" Sam nodded, walking with him as he led the group back to the campsite where Lloyd, Kratos and Caleb stood talking.

So Martel sent the two of them into the Book to have some kind of talk with Caleb? About what? Danny gave them a faintly suspicious glance as he went to check on the pot of food, lifting the lid to peek in. Huh, ramen. Didn't look like the soup cups variety though. He sniffed at it, picking up the faint aroma of pork and turning to see what the android had prepared for Sam. It looked like a burger of some kind, but that certainly didn't look like tofu in there...

"Ooh, nice. Portabello mushroom." the Goth remarked, lifting the burger bun a little to examine her special dinner, "With carrot and celery sticks for fries. This man thinks of everything!"

Danny smiled, lowering the lid over the soup before turning his attentions back towards the trio standing just a few feet away. They spoke softly, but they didn't look too concerned that he could just float a little closer and hear everything they were saying. So he did just that, trying to look like he was innocently searching from something from one of their backpacks. The halfa listened in on the conversation for a second or two, and realized with a grimace why they were so unconcerned. They were talking in some weird language, something really bizarre and old-sounding. If Danny had to take a wild guess, he'd assume it was that same language that he and his friends had seen written out over the last week and a half or so; angelic language. Of course it was safe. It was practically a dead language, and it helped a lot that it didn't even exist for Earth's history.

He might not be able to understand what they were saying, but Danny could get the gist of it -sort of- from the way the three were acting. Kratos was hard to read, but the way he kept tightening his grip on those sleeves of his when he folded his arms over his chest, and that faintly pained look on his face... whatever it was he was saying was something he didn't like saying, or didn't want to say. Lloyd stood in a position that had him between the two of them, acting as a kind of go-between or peacekeeper. He didn't look too happy either, but he seemed to add on extra explaining to Caleb every time Kratos stopped talking, and his expression looked like he was trying to plead for something; forgiveness, understanding, maybe?

Caleb was a rock again, and Danny couldn't pull anything from his wall of perfect neutrality. But then -he realized slowly and with quite a bit of shock- _why_ would Caleb put up that shield against his old friends? Something must have happened between them, something that Caleb hadn't told him about or Lloyd hadn't mentioned in their first meeting, and the redhead had decided to keep the two of them, or at least Kratos, as far away from himself emotionally as possible. But why? What had he done to Kratos -or Kratos done to him- that would have them stand that close together and yet be so far apart?

Danny headed back to Tucker, who was on his laptop yet again, checking it for damages from the battle with The Corrupted. "Hey, you still have that link to Caleb open?" he whispered to his friend. Tucker gave him a questioning look but nodded. "Think you can open up a window to see what he's saying? They're talking in some old language and I don't get any of it."

"Hm. Don't think I can do that yet, but he's still broadcasting on the Fenton Phones' frequency." Tucker remarked, typing rapidly on the keyboard, "I'll just do a recording of his voice, plug that into a program for converting voice to text, then have that get translated according to the notes I recovered from the Archives." He looked up at Danny's blank expression and smirked. "It's a geek thing. You wouldn't understand."

"Sometimes I'm glad I don't." Danny returned with a matching smirk and moved on to check on Jazz, who had taken the memento from him and was examining it carefully. "So, anything else you can get out of that thing?" he asked her, sitting down by the carrot-top as he kept an eye on the three nearby still chatting away in angelic.

"Your sword here. It's your other self." Jazz murmured softly, hiding her words under her breath as she watched Valerie work on minor repairs and recharges of her ecto-rifle and ecto-guns. The carrot-top lifted the shield with its DP insignia and pointed at the pommel of the sword underneath it. It was the Fenton Family crest, a block-print capital 'F' surrounded by a ghostly green aura meant to look like a small ghost in flight. Danny blinked at it in surprise, then looked up at his sister in silent questioning. "I think it means Danny Fenton is the one who actually dishes out the justice, since it's his humanity that governs both sides of you. That's why Fenton holds the scales and stands against corruption. If you corrupt the humanity in Danny Phantom, corrupt Danny Fenton himself, then that's when your fears of Dark Danny returning really _do_ come true." Jazz explained softly and lowered the shield to hide the sword's pommel, "Danny Phantom is the shield, protecting Danny Fenton and his sense of justice. This memento covers pretty much everything about you." She smiled at him proudly, draping an arm around his shoulders. "You're doing good, Little Brother. This is a reminder that you're quite capable of protecting us all, provided we're there to keep you on the straight and narrow. And no slacking!"

"Aw, Jazz!" He made a face at her over that, and the two laughed about it. The atmosphere was light now, with the Trials finally over and their Soulfire big enough to burn the Book and save Amity Park and the world. Danny felt like things were finally looking up for him for once.

And then Caleb snapped at something Kratos said, an angry shout that caught the teens' attentions, the five of them looking over in alarm as Lloyd quickly held out his arms to both Caleb and Kratos, trying to separate them even further. The mercenary had suddenly pulled a sword free, its tip laying directly against Caleb's chest in just the right angle to pierce through the Tri-Crystal System if Kratos threw his full strength into it. The android just stood there, glaring up at the rust-haired swordsman as if daring him to do it. Lloyd yelled at the both of them, head swiveling back and forth as he barked at each man, obviously trying to diffuse the situation and not succeeding as well as he'd liked.

"What happened?" Danny blurted out, turning to focus on Tucker as the techno-geek typed even more frantically at the laptop.

"I'm not sure! I'm getting garbled translations; the program's not perfect, y'know!" he returned, wide-eyed as he finally started fiddling with the frames of his glasses, "Um, something about not needing to confess something that's not his... or is that claim something...?" He scanned the lines of text and shook his head. "He's using some other form of angelic, the translation can get a few words through just fine, but the rest doesn't look right." The windows suddenly closed and Tucker yelped in surprise, Danny looking up on a hunch.

"Stay out of my head, Foley!" Caleb snapped at them, green eyes blazing in fury before turning back to face Kratos, "I've got nothing more to say to you, Kratos! Lloyd has already vouched for me and you've seen me in action before! Don't ever compare me to **him** again!"

"Evidence suggested otherwise back then, and it's resurfacing here as well." Kratos replied frostily, picking up on the switch to English and doing the same, "Martel knows what you wanted to do; we're here to make sure it doesn't happen."

"It's just a precaution, Caleb; you can understand that, right?" Lloyd pleaded with the angelic android, "Please, just let us do it and then we'll be out of your hair and you can go on with your life."

"No." Danny flinched at how cold and dark that word sounded coming out of Caleb's mouth, "I thought you already decided who I was; are you telling me you've changed your mind? Was your message to me meaningless then?" Lloyd looked almost helpless, then his gaze landed on Danny and he brightened.

"Hey! Danny Phantom! Can you help us get some sense into Caleb's head? You're the closest we have to Adam!" he called out and the android glared sharply at the brunet.

"You leave Raven out of this!"

"See? Help a guy out, will ya?" Lloyd went on, ignoring Caleb as easily as he brushed off Valerie in Welgaia. Danny looked around at his friends' worried expressions, took a deep breath to steady himself, then flew over to join the three of them.

"Um, what's going on?" the halfa asked him as Lloyd grabbed his arm and pulled him aside, still ignoring the redhead's growing irritation with both swordsmen.

"Martel's worried that Caleb's slipping into some familiar territory and sent us in to strengthen the spell she cast on him to keep that from happening." Lloyd explained to Danny and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "But see, the thing is, that spell needs Caleb to accept it willingly for it to work. He did it the first time 'cause he really felt sorry for what happened..."

"What happened?" Danny interrupted, curiosity rising. He hadn't heard of _this_ about Caleb; was this one of those things he'd skipped? Probably.

"Don't know. I wasn't awake at the time." Lloyd sighed, "Whatever it was, it happened way after I died. Heck, it happened way after Genis died too, and he was a half-elf kid so you **know** he was gonna outlive the rest of us by at least another few hundred years." He rolled his eyes thoughtfully. "Now, where was I? Oh yeah." he muttered, "So, apparently Martel picked up something about Caleb that worried her, y'know because they're connected like that, and she wants us to put an extra layer of her spell on him just to be on the safe side. Only problem is, Caleb won't accept it this time."

Danny stared at him, one eyebrow lifted. That... didn't really tell him anything. What spell? Why would he accept it the first time and not this time? What did he do that deserved it to begin with?

"Wait." he began in suspicion, "Is this that perfect neutrality thing you're talking about?" Lloyd blinked at him, gazed off distantly as if listening to something else, then turned back to him and nodded once. "Then I'm not helping. I told you that it was crap!" Danny snapped at the taller swordsman, floating up to be level with him. "Do you know how _lonely_ he was behind that wall you guys forced on him? How much **pain** he was in?" He splayed a hand over his heart for emphasis, "He was practically _dying_ in there! I told him I would be his friend, that I'd be there by his side and protect him just as much as he protected me and my friends. Even though he'll live forever, even if I'm just some tiny speck of life compared to all the time he's been alive, at least I can say that I was Caleb's friend, someone he can count on while I'm al-... while I exist!" Danny had to scramble to cover that near-slip, Valerie was staring at them with the others, taken aback by the turn of events.

He glanced at them, then turned back to Lloyd, throwing his hand back to point at Caleb, the android stunned by his fervent speech. "I _saved_ him from that! I'm not helping you put him back behind that wall!" the halfa shouted hotly, "Friends don't lock friends up to suffer forever like that!" Lloyd blinked at him in surprise, speechless for all of three seconds.

"Man, you really **do** sound like the Wonder Chef." the dual swordsman finally remarked inanely, "Well, not _exactly_ like him; his voice is way different from yours and he had a little bit of a weird accent. But all that you just said, it really sounds like something Adam would say." He leaned forward to peer at Danny's face, and the halfa leaned back in response, a drop of sweat running down his temple out of faint exasperation. "Let me guess. You're the one who cooks best in your family, right?"

"Um... yeah?" Danny replied sheepishly. If one counted the fact that every time his mother or father tried to make something in the kitchen, it wound up contaminated with ectoplasm and came to life, then Danny was pretty much the one making meals for the family that actually tasted like food.

"Got a good match to the Wonder Chef's mana?" Lloyd asked and Danny stared at him in shock. How did he figure **that** just from how he talked and the fact that he could cook better than his parents or Jazz? "Well, see, now there's why Martel got worried." the swordsman sighed.

"Hey! I'm right here, you know!" Caleb yelled, hands resting on his hips, "I gave him a Key Crest! Isn't that proof enough?"

"If you truly wanted to prove it, you would have destroyed the Cruxis Crystal on sight." Kratos told him flatly, "The fact that it's still here, even with a Key Crest, doesn't bode well for your case."

"Excuse me!" Jazz called out, getting to her feet and walking over to join the foursome, Sam hurrying after her as well, "Can I just say something about all this? We've all been listening in, not that hard since you guys keep yelling, and I think you're going at this all wrong." She held a hand towards Caleb, gesturing along with her words. "He and Danny talked about the Cruxis Crystal while we were here in this level. Caleb **wanted** to have it destroyed, but the Key Crest was a protection for Danny while they decided on whether or not to destroy it. He decided that it might be useful to us later, but he told Danny to keep both the Crystal and Crest, and to keep them away from him."

She looked up at Kratos with a firm expression. "I don't know why he wants those things kept away from him, but if it's because something about them is bad for Caleb, then the fact that he entrusted Danny with keeping them should count for something, right?" she finished. Kratos shook his head. "Why not?"

"Because the same was done with the Chosen, Colette. She was entrusted with the Cruxis Crystal that transformed her into an angel." he explained and a faintly pained expression flickered across his face, "The same also happened to the Won-..."

"Stop!" Caleb snapped, cutting Kratos off before he could finish. The android had an agonized expression, and Team Phantom stared at him in surprise, Danny blinking at him with wide eyes. "Don't mention that, please! You know how much that... that..." the redhead pleaded and Kratos sighed.

"Perhaps that _was_ a bit too far. It _does_ bring up old wounds in us all." the mercenary agreed, looking contrite but didn't move the sword from its place against the redhead's chest. "The fact still remains, however, that you placed the Crystal and the Crest in Danny Phantom's possession, which follows **his** method of operation." Kratos added sternly, "The spell needs to be reinforced."

"No." Caleb shot back, once again composed and annoyed, "Tell Martel to quit jumping at every little thing I do. Raven trusts in me and that's all I need. As long as I've got at least one good friend, I'll be fine." With that, he stepped back from the sword pointed at him, then spun around and folded his arms over his chest, turning his back on Lloyd and Kratos.

"He claimed the same. That's what led to all that we suffered through." Kratos pointed out darkly, sheathing his sword and turning away as well, "Let's go, Lloyd. Martel needs to be made aware of this." He walked away, fading as he moved until he disappeared from sight. The red-clad swordsman gave Caleb a faintly hurt look.

"I still think of us as friends, Caleb, no matter what happened in the past." he told the redhead. Caleb turned his head slightly, giving the barest of nods, but it was enough to have Lloyd brighten up like he'd just won the lottery. "I'll try to talk to Martel and Dad about this; maybe I can convince them that you don't need the spell boost if you really, _really_ show them that you're definitely Caleb!" The android sighed in exasperation, throwing his hands up with the sound.

"I've always **been** Caleb! I kept telling you all that! I can't be anyone else because of how the soul transfer works!" he exclaimed, "Just go already! I'm getting a headache and I have food cooking!" Lloyd laughed.

"Okay, okay! I getcha. Well, bye then, Danny, everyone!" the brunet called out, waving as he started running off, fading as well, "Later, Caleb! I'll say 'hi' to Adam for you, okay?" Danny glanced over at the redhead as he waved back, noticing the android stiffen at the last words.

"Did anyone else find all that to be really weird, or was that just me?" Sam asked, still waving long after Lloyd had vanished from sight. The group sighed collectively, shoulders dropping tiredly as Caleb finally turned to take in their appearance. He managed a grin at the sight.

"Lloyd tends to have that effect on people." he remarked wryly and headed for the self-cooker. Danny watched him, still faintly suspicious of the whole thing. There was something more going on, something Caleb was still hiding despite all the clues that kept showing up to point towards whatever it was, something that had Martel -his own sister- taking steps to seal Caleb's heart up again with that perfect neutrality. Whatever that something was, it definitely looked like it involved the Wonder Chef and himself; but Caleb had given him a Key Crest and said he wasn't going to use him as a vessel. Why wasn't that enough 'proof'? And why did they keep trying to debate Caleb's identity?

Had Caleb been known as someone else before he was Caleb, even though he kept saying that he had always been Caleb? Danny found himself wondering more and more about what Nebilim had said, about Caleb being known as the Fallen Angel for another, secret reason.


	33. Chapter 33

This Chapter is un-beta'd, so any help in tweaking it would be appreciated. Constructive Criticism please, flames are not tolerated well and will be used to warm my poor hands. This mall is too cold. Thanks much and have a lovely weekend.

* * *

33

The hours stretched on as Danny watched Caleb from across the campsite, stirring the noodles in his bowl. Either Caleb didn't notice -which was a big, fat impossibility because he always noticed as long as he wasn't damaged-, or he was ignoring Danny again; the halfa bet on the ignoring part. It was beginning to become an obvious habit that he'd learned to identify earlier. Anytime something poked at Caleb's past about certain parts, the android walled himself off and pushed everyone away. Recently, he'd let Danny in and shared his memories and experiences, becoming less of a mystery about things, and the boy was able to answer a few of the questions that bothered him about Caleb. But there were still bits that didn't add up, that were still held back, and even though he knew he should be patient about getting to know more about the android, Danny couldn't help but feel that this particular bunch of things was going to stay hidden as long as Caleb wanted to keep it that way.

And for Caleb, that _really_ meant forever.

At the same time, whatever this was, it was both the biggest secret about him and the biggest reason why he was still in pain all the time. Danny slurped up another mouthful of ramen, chewing as he thought over all that he'd learned. So far, he got the idea that all the ancient people, Nebilim included, knew that Caleb had gone by a different name in the past, but at the same time, those same people and Caleb claimed that the android had always been called Caleb. Since Danny knew that he had a soul that was given to him by Martel, and he didn't particularly _like_ that specific soul, then it was a good chance that the other name everyone was thinking of was the name of the person whose soul went to Caleb. Plus, that soul was a good match to Nebilim and had escaped being possessed by the Demon King somehow, which meant there had to be a way for Danny to gain the same ability.

He tapped the fork against his lips, making a mental note to ask about that when he had the chance to bring up the subject without making Caleb get all riled up.

Next, Lloyd and Kratos coming to put some spell boost on Caleb to keep him from acting familiar. Familiar in what way? To who? To the soul that was inside him? Danny frowned, chewing on a piece of pork he speared from the soup. According to the Archives on souls and mana transfers and all that junk, a high mana match was needed for a soul to retain its memories and identity. Caleb, being an android, didn't have a mana signature of his own and could take any soul, so Martel just gave him one at random.

Or did she?

Danny considered that for a second, then shoved it aside to think on later. So Caleb got a soul that he didn't match perfectly. What did that mean for the soul that went to him? If a soul needed a good match to keep its memories, then would those memories be lost if the body wasn't a match to the soul? In that case, Caleb's soul was pretty much blank, and he could really call it **his** soul. But if that's right, then why did everyone treat it like it was still holding its memories? And why would that be enough to have Lloyd and Kratos and Martel worried, wanting to seal Caleb up with it, and scare Caleb badly enough that he had accepted the seal the first time?

What soul could have the power to scare a goddess and an android?

"You glare at your ramen more and you'll end up boiling it, Superboy." Sam's voice broke into his thoughts and Danny looked up in surprise at the Goth taking a seat by him with a fruit sandwich. She flashed him a grin and bit into her snack, gazing over at Caleb as well, watching the android write in his journal. "Thinking about what Lloyd and Kratos were saying to Caleb?"

"Yeah, it's bothering me a lot." Danny replied, giving her an odd look, "I thought you were asleep with the others. We had a pretty rough few days here." Sam shrugged indifferently.

"_Was_ asleep. Kinda hard to _stay_ asleep when I can hear your brain sizzling from where I was." she retorted with a smirk that softened into a smile, "I knew you were going to stay up and act like night watch again, and think about everything that's happened. Not that hard to see in your face after watching Caleb blow off two Heroes of Union." Danny returned the grin sheepishly, then looked down into his soup bowl, the broth reflecting his grim expression back at him.

"I feel like I'm getting close to the truth about Caleb; about why he has perfect neutrality, why he's called the Fallen Angel, why Nebilim knows him and Martel sealed his heart, and why he's so scared of himself." he murmured, "But the answer's just out of reach. There's still things I don't know, that I'm missing. What happened in the past? What did Caleb do to deserve that spell? How did the Wonder Chef play into all this? It sounded like Kratos was about to say something about him, but Caleb stopped him." He sighed, looking over at the Goth while she gave him a sympathetic look. "Maybe I'm looking for something that isn't there?"

"No, there's something there. I'm sure of it. You're asking questions and digging deep; the problem is that the thing you're looking for is massive." Sam replied, leaning more to his side to peer into his bowl and wrinkle her nose at the chunks of pork still floating with noodles in the broth. She leaned back, returning to her interest in her fruit sandwich. Taking a bite, she chewed in consideration, then gestured with the sandwich. "This is a cover-up that's got eons of layers on it, a secret held by the dead, the divine, and the depressed over there." She pointed at Caleb at her last remark and Danny followed her gesture, blinking at the expression on the redhead's face.

He really did look depressed, like he could break into tears at any moment and it was taking all his focus to hold it back while he went on writing.

"Oh, yeah, let's not forget the demonic." Sam added dryly, jerking a thumb upwards to indicate Nebilim, "He whose butt is gonna get kicked come morning, now that we've finished the Trials and got a massive inferno of Soulfire on our side." Danny glanced up and then back at Sam, still worried.

"I dunno. Shouldn't the teleporter be fancier then?" he questioned, pointing over at the disc in the center of the platform, its appearance the same as all the teleporter pads before it, "You know the formula. The last door that leads to the final boss always looks freakishly huge or demonic or symbolic or something! That thing just looks like... blah." Sam gave him a flat, unimpressed look.

"Danny, not everything's just like in a video game." she replied.

"But didn't this level seem _too_ easy? I mean, looking at how massive and trap-filled Valerie's level was, it was almost obvious that it would be the last level and last Trial, right?" he protested, watching Sam think it over and finally nod, albeit slowly, "Then we got this one for me, and it seems kinda anti-climatic. Don't you think?"

"You think that pad leads to a sub-boss or something?" she asked dubiously, looking over at the teleporter herself, "What if it's another rest level? Like the prison level in Welgaia?" She took another bite of sandwich, continuing around the bread and fruit slices, "I mean, we took out Technus in Tucker's level... still haven't seen Desiree yet, so that's prob'ly her zone or something."

"If it's a rest level," Danny muttered, stirring the rest of his ramen, "then why didn't we just step onto it?" He ate a little more, then gave Sam a stern look, "Because we're all getting that feeling, am I right? That there's something seriously off here." Sam blinked at him, then sighed and pulled her backpack over, taking out the textbook. "What are you doing?"

"If you're so worried, read. If there's anything missing you're wondering about, the _Symphonian Culture_ book is a good place to start catching up." she told him, opening it up and flipping through the pages, "If it helps, I've been hammering at my own mystery. Namely, where the heck did Mithos disappear to after Lloyd made the Yggdrasill Tree sprout?" Danny gave her a strange look as he pulled out his own book, opening it to read ahead. The Goth shook her head in irritation, tapping at the page and running her finger down the text. "Look, it says that Lloyd destroyed the Cruxis Crystal that held Mithos' soul in place, but the light from those broken fragments went to Lloyd's Exsphere. That must have been his soul escaping to Lloyd's Exsphere." she pointed out, "Then Lloyd tried to revive the Great Seed, and the light escaped him and went into the Seed. From there, the book loses track of Mithos. Where did his soul go? Did it stay with Martel? And if it did, did she seal him up so he wouldn't get reincarnated?"

Danny opened his mouth, ready to speak his own mind about that, when that familiar twang of thought ran in his mind again. Seal... Martel **would** seal Mithos, wouldn't she? So he wouldn't try again with his whole Chosen of Mana thing, since Mithos said he would repeat it all if he had the chance? And what did Martel do instead? She sealed Caleb's heart so he couldn't ever be close to anyone, and Caleb **agreed** to be sealed, because he was afraid.

Caleb was afraid of Mithos. Mithos didn't get sealed. Caleb got sealed. Was it possible that...?

"No way. They're nothing alike." Danny breathed in shock, eyes wide as a faint expression of dread began dawning on him, "Caleb's whole life is to protect the world and all its Heroes, to save its knowledge and history. It's the opposite; he promised Lloyd and he promised Wren, the Wonder Chef. He promised to protect all life. It's the opposite!" Sam gave him a worried look, not liking the way he was talking now.

"Danny? Are you okay? What are you talking about? I was talking about Mithos, not Caleb." she pointed out in concern, then jumped as the android suddenly loomed over them, carefully pulling the books from both of their hands.

"I'd prefer if you didn't talk about Mithos." Caleb told them quietly, tucking the books under one arm as he collected Danny's forgotten bowl of mostly-eaten ramen, "You're both tired, you need rest before we move on to the Altar and face Nebilim." Danny suddenly reached out, grabbed onto Caleb's sleeve, and gazed up at the android with a lost and confused look.

"Wh-who... who are you?" he asked shakily, unsure of the answer or how he'd react to it. Caleb's face was carefully neutral -_'Of course it would be, with a loaded question like that!'_- and he watched Danny's expression before answering.

"Depends on whose side you're on. Who do you think I am?" he replied softly. Danny slowly let go of his sleeve and watched him walk away with the books and bowl. Sam watched as well before turning a baffled look on him.

"Danny? What the heck was that all about?" she demanded, folding her arms over her chest. The halfa shook his head.

Still too many questions, too many unknowns, more now that he was recalling other talks he'd had with Sam about Mithos. The fact that he also went through a Book, Martel wishing that he go back to his old self, Mithos had gone crazy because his sister was murdered, the Chosens and how they all had Cruxis Crystals in their possession, the plan to revive Mithos that failed... A plan that Caleb had been a part of that had nearly killed him; didn't Tucker say that Caleb losing his soul was his version of 'dying'?

He went to bed, ignoring Sam's attempts to get through to him, and fell into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Morning wasn't any better. Danny couldn't quite look the android in the eyes as breakfast was served, and he was getting the idea that this was what Lloyd had meant when he said that he couldn't face Caleb after the whole Mithos revival plan went to hell. Was he right then? The halfa felt sick thinking on it, even guilty, but he couldn't help but wonder.

"So today's the day we beat the snot out of Nebilim, light the Altar and get the heck outta here at last, huh?" Valerie asked of the teacher over a plate of waffles.

"Well, that's the plan." Caleb agreed, serving out a portion for Tucker, "I'm going to be staying on the sidelines, supporting you with spells so you can actually survive the battle. Nebilim won't be easily beat; he's the King of Niflheim for a reason." He sat back, gazing up at the dome of windows that decorated the skies of Danny's level, and sighed worriedly. "I don't know. Something doesn't feel right."

"See? I told you this was too easy!" Danny shot at Sam, the Goth rolling her eyes.

"Well, it's a lot more trustworthy coming from someone who lived through centuries of battles and monster-fighting than from a kid who plays video games all weekend." she retorted, ignoring Valerie's confused stare at them. She shrugged, then turned to Caleb as he served out another portion of waffles and bacon for Danny to eat. "What gives you the feeling that something's up?" she asked him.

"He hasn't spoken to us, for starters." the android replied concernedly, scanning the skies, "Nebilim likes to talk, more so when it looks like we're winning. Raven, has he spoken to you at all?" Danny shook his head. "See? On top of that, this level was too simple in design as compared to Valerie's." He looked back down at the group, grim expression on his face. "Something's going on, and I think the next level may explain it all."

"Danny needs more White Quartz." Jazz supplied helpfully, pointing at her brother's armlets. Caleb blinked, then got up, moving towards the halfa as he dug through his satchel. Danny stiffened as he got close before relaxing a little.

_'He likes me, I'm his friend, he's not going to do anything to hurt me, he's... just going to rip everyone a new one if I get hurt. Worst. Guardian angel. Ever.'_

"Let's see here... ooh." the android murmured, eyebrows furrowing as he examined the two metal bands, "Raven, there's no White Quartz at all on this armlet, and you've only got... five pieces on this one? There's just Red and Purple Quartz, and the charms don't allow for you to infuse your Ghost Rays with any Element other than Light." He looked up at the boy with a frown. "What happened to the rest of the White Quartz? How did you get these?"

"Burned through a lot busting that Black Quartz, grabbed a few more from your bag but it turned out I grabbed some other colors with the white ones, then gave a couple to Jazz and Sam so they could use the Light Element in their gear for fighting The Corrupted..." Danny rattled off, counting the points on his free hand while Caleb kept searching his bag. He watched for a bit, then lifted an eyebrow. "Something wrong?" he asked. Caleb stopped searching, sitting back to let out a small huff of breath, the frown deepening on his face.

"I'm out." he returned in a faintly stunned tone, "I don't have any White Quartz left."

The teens went silent, staring at him. Sam crawled forward after a minute, slipping the strap of the bag from Caleb's shoulder and pulling it to herself to check. The android let her take the bag, working on pulling the other stones from Danny's armlets and gazing at the last of the White Quartz in his hand. Jazz leaned in to help the Goth, two pairs of hands searching around Caleb's belongings to pick out loose stones and a pouch that held more of them. There were various colors, red, yellow, green, all kinds, even black. But no white stones.

"Those are it? The last five White Quartz we have?" Sam asked incredulously, looking up from the bag at last. Valerie got up and walked over to join them, gazing at the stones with a faint expression of dread.

"That's not going to be enough to beat Nebilim... is it?" she asked carefully and flinched when Caleb shook his head. "Well... can't we save those for me and Jazz?" she suggested, "And tweak those bands for Ghost Boy to use the other stones?"

"Light Element is the most powerful advantage over Nebilim we have. He has resistances to all the other Elements." Caleb returned grimly, "Taking the Light Element away from Raven will leave him virtually unarmed, no ability to combat the monsters and demons, and we know that Nebilim's just waiting for a chance to possess him. This is that chance." He plugged one of the stones back into an armlet and rubbed his head, glaring at the remaining four. "What to do, what to do?"

Danny watched him struggle over the new problem of the White Quartz shortage. It was strange. He had his suspicions on what could be Caleb's biggest secret, but the way he was acting, the way he talked and reacted to things, it was nothing like Mithos. Still, he couldn't shake it, the feeling that the two of them were connected somehow. He ran a hand through his hair, pulled it down over his face and sighed deeply. Oh, he didn't want to do this, didn't want to ask... no, no, no...

"Hey, Caleb?" the words were out of his mouth before he could protest more. Danny wanted to kick himself repeatedly, with big iron boots, when Caleb looked up at him with a puzzled look, waiting for the rest of his question. "Mithos traveled through a Book of the Underworld, didn't he?" The android gave him a flat glare.

"Raven..."

"And he also had a high mana match to Nebilim, didn't he?" Danny pressed on, ignoring the stares of the teens around them. "You know this, I know you do! You know everything!" he cried in near hysteria.

"I don't know anything from before I was created!" Caleb snapped back, "I only know what I read about or asked the Heroes about!"

"What's going on now?" Jazz questioned, looking back and forth between the two of them. She paused, then turned to Sam with wide eyes. "Why is Danny asking Caleb about Mithos's past? Caleb was created after Mithos died, right?" she went on and the Goth narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Yeah, he was." she replied in a low tone, "And he got a soul after Mithos died. Funny thing. The textbook loses track of Mithos's soul right after he got sucked into the Great Seed." She tilted her chin up at seeing Caleb stiffen. "Uh huh. Betcha Caleb knows what happened to Mithos."

"He wound up getting erased, **that's** what happened." the android growled at her, eyes glowing brightly before turning back to Danny, "I have that information on Mithos because I stole it from the libraries and computers on Derris-Kharlan. That's why the angels were so ticked off at me at the time; I took their data, and then erased the files on Mithos so they couldn't try to replicate their leader."

"Then you know how he kept himself from getting possessed by Nebilim too!" Danny yelled, "Why not tell us how to do that so I don't get turned into a vessel?" Caleb sighed, rubbing his fingertips against his temples. "Oh, don't put up that act; you're an android! You don't have a real brain, you can't have a headache and you can't...!"

"Feel pain?" Caleb bit back, glaring up at the boy, "That's what you were going to say, wasn't it?" He stood up, snatching his bag back from Sam and shouldering it again, digging through it swiftly, dropping the quartz back in. "Unbelievable. All I go through during this whole trip, protecting you all, leading you through level after level of mind-screwing Trials... I thought we had built up some amount of trust!" The redhead grumbled more under his breath, then pulled out the Soul Stone's box. "You want to know why I didn't tell you how Mithos escaped possession?" Caleb hissed at Danny, "Easy. Mithos was a summoner, too; he had the protection of the Summon Spirits, especially Luna and Aska, the Summon Spirits of Light!" He thrust the box into Danny's chest, knocking the wind from him in a short puff before the halfa could reach up to grab it, then turned away and stormed towards the teleporter pad. "You want that same protection? Too bad! Should have made the pact with them before you came in here!" he declared, "But that takes magical blood to do, and guess what? Now that you have just ectoplasm, you **can't** use it!"

"Hey! Where are you going?" Sam called, scrambling to her feet and grabbing her pack, the other teens scrambling to do the same, Tucker wolfing down his breakfast as fast as possible while keeping an eye on his laptop's diagnostic tools.

"To see what's going on in the next level!" Caleb returned sharply, "I'm entrusting you with the Soulfire; if there's something going on, I want it safe with all of you! I can take care of myself with _Incineration_ if I need it; give me five minutes, then follow. Things should be clean by then."

Jazz sighed, shaking her head before shooting her brother a glare. Obviously, something had changed in the dynamic between them, and now the android was going back to hiding behind his wall. Only now he was irritated with all of them when it was Danny that was jabbing at his sore spots. She opened her mouth, ready to berate her sulking little brother, when Caleb stepped onto the platform.

The pad lit up suddenly and blasted a surge of electricity up into the android. Caleb shrieked in pain and alarm, twisting in place as the teens halted in their tracks, eyes wide at the sight. Tucker bolted upright, horrified.

"That's going to fry his circuitry!" he blurted out, scrambling forward, "Caleb! Get out of there! It's booby-trapped!" The teleporter flashed again, blinding the group, and when their vision finally cleared, the android was gone. Tucker stared at the empty pad. "He's... gone..." he whispered in shock and the fingertips of both hands flew up to his teeth, biting into the nails rapidly as he whimpered.

"Is he dead?" Valerie questioned blankly, blinking at the empty pad with a tilted head.

"If he's dead, **we're** dead." Sam growled, gathering her things and slinging on her backpack, "The only way out of here is with the Eternal Sword Pin, and Caleb's the one who has it and the only one who can use it! We have to go after him!" She darted for the pad, pulling up short when Danny flew ahead of her and stood between her and the teleporter. "Danny! What are you doing?" she shouted at him.

"That thing electrocuted Caleb!" the halfa told her in a panic, waving his arms around wildly, "You can't just step on it; what if it zaps you too?" Sam gave him a lidded stare, fists resting on her hips.

"We're dead either way, Danny." she repeated and gestured towards the pad, "He probably got zapped to throw him off balance before being teleported to the last level, so he won't be able to fight back." She turned around to yell again. "Tucker! Open a link to Caleb! Check his condition!" the Goth shouted.

Tucker blinked, pulling his hands from his mouth as he lit up in realization. He'd forgotten in his own panic that he had at least two devices that connected to the android. Diving for his laptop, Tucker opened up several windows and started up the link to Caleb, biting his lip as he waited for some response. Jazz leaned over his shoulder, watching with her own pack already pulled on as Valerie got her things together and marched for the pad herself.

A moment or two passed, and Tucker let out a cry of relief as data started streaming into the windows. "He's online! Sort of, but he's there!" he shouted at Danny, "The pad teleported him to the next level; he's just... well, it looks like he's dreaming."

"Dreaming?" the half-ghost exclaimed in disbelief. Tucker nodded. "How can you tell? Do androids have the _ability_ to dream?"

"Apparently, living ones can. I'm getting erratic data here. Even some images." the techno-geek replied, faintly awed as he pulled on his own pack, watching the screen as he got himself together, "This Lloyd's much older than the one we just saw yesterday, you can tell 'cause of his face; this other redhead that looks kinda like Zelos and Caleb, but he's wearing some weird black armor and looks really ticked off; ooh, cute chick riding on a broom!" He rubbed his head, peering at the screen, "The rest are moving too fast to see well. ...Huh? That's weird. I don't remember Caleb's Special Arte gauge being activated; he's already got some energy built up...?"

"Let's go, people! We've got a king to dethrone!" Sam shouted in exasperation and pushed past Danny to step onto the pad, ignoring his alarmed cries. It lit up, but there was no electric surge, just the Goth vanishing in the more familiar beam of light. The halfa blinked dumbly, making no other effort to protest as Valerie hopped in and vanished as well.

"C'mon, Danny; Caleb's okay. He's probably just a little dazed from that trap." Jazz remarked as she joined him at the pad. She tapped the box in his hand. "You should pack that away so it's safe." she added and smiled, "See you on the next level." With that, she hopped onto the pad and vanished.

"Am I the only one who worries about the lives of everyone on this trip?" Danny asked the heavens in exasperation, throwing his arms out. Tucker hurried by him, laptop in his arms as he jumped onto the pad as well.

"Pretty much, yeah." the techno-geek told him with a sheepish grin before disappearing. Danny sighed, pulling a hand over his face. This was so not going according to plan. He turned, tucking the box away, and prepared to step onto the pad himself.

_"You're very close to the truth, Boy. Why back off now?"_ Nebilim crooned suddenly. Danny froze in place, narrowing his eyes as he turned his head slightly, listening to the voice.

"They're not alike." he murmured.

_"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you? Then ask him what happened the day he learned the Wonder Chef died."_

Danny twitched, shaking his head. That was like the very worst thing to ask about, the greatest sore spot! Reminding Caleb of Wren's mortality, asking about his death, that could set Caleb off on some rant or, worse, cut him off from his emotions for good!

"I'm not listening to you. You've done enough damage to our friendship by gabbing on about things that aren't there!" he yelled back. He glared around himself, expecting a response, some laughter or a snide answer. There was nothing. Danny waited a breath of a moment longer, then turned and stepped onto the pad, vanishing into the next level.

He kind of wished he hadn't done that after a second of seeing where they were.

"What is this?" he heard Jazz ask in a soft voice. The teens stood together, eyes wide, staring at what looked like the bridge of a ship. Pure white with cream-colored seats and consoles, a vast screen that displayed the stars, and the feel in the air that just screamed 'space travel on a real space ship'; Danny almost trembled with excitement. A ship! He was in space! It was almost like Welgaia, but this was an honest-to-goodness starship and it didn't have that weird dead feeling like the angelic city had, and they were traveling among the stars! He stepped forward, barely aware of his friends turning their heads to watch him in surprise, barely aware of tears running down his face as he gazed out at the bridge of the ship.

"We're in space. We're actually in a space ship!" he whispered in awe and joy. He felt someone grab his shoulder and pull him back, and he looked to see who it was, why they would do such a thing. Sam gave him a grim look, then pointed down towards the floor.

"You almost stepped on him." she explained as Danny blinked down at Caleb, the android lying half-curled on the floor, the Wonder Fork held loosely in one hand. "He was like that when we got here."

"Is he okay?" Danny blurted, kneeling down to shake the android... only to find that his hand passed through Caleb's shoulder without making contact. "What the-? I'm not intangible!" he exclaimed, looking up at Sam again.

"We know." Valerie told him grimly, watching one of the ship's crew members walk by them, stop and turn to stare down at the unmoving android in shock before running off to sound an alarm. She knelt by Danny and reached out to lay a hand on Caleb, startling the halfa when her own hand passed through his shoulder as well. "We couldn't touch him either." she explained, holding her hand up and poking him in the shoulder, "See?"

"What kind of level is this?" Tucker murmured, watching as the rest of the bridge came to life at the alert, seeming to finally notice the fallen android and hurrying to grab weapons and surround him. "We've beaten all the Trials, overcome all our hidden sins, got the mementos and gathered a mess of Soulfire!" He threw out one hand towards the bridge crew, "How did we wind up in outer space on some weirdo space ship?"

Danny studied the crew carefully, finding something very odd about the men and women glaring down at Caleb distrustfully. After another moment, he yelped, pointing at the group wildly.

"Those people! Look at them! They're all dressed like cooks!" he cried, startling his friends and bringing their attentions to the the crew. He was right; every person wore the trademark white slacks and white jackets with double-breasted buttons, red neckerchiefs and scarves around their necks. "And check out their weapons! They're all giant utensils! Like Caleb's Wonder Fork!" Danny went on, gesturing at the oversized forks and spoons in the grips of the crew members.

The teens stepped back collectively, unwilling to take the chance that they would get hit by one of the utensils, but it looked like the crew only noticed Caleb. Jazz gasped, one hand flying up to her mouth.

"We're invisible and intangible in this level!" she realized in shock, "This level... it must be designed for Caleb!" The others looked at one another in surprise before turning their gazes on the android. Caleb groaned softly, finally stirring and lifting a hand to his head, his grip tightening on the Wonder Fork as he began to sit up. "This is Caleb's Trial!"

"I thought he had too many sins to be given a proper Trial level!" Sam blurted out. Danny growled, hands tightening into fists as he watched Caleb jerk back in surprise at the many forks and spoons pointed at him.

"**That's** what Nebilim meant!" he hissed, "He _does_ have one huge sin, the biggest one he's been hiding from everyone for eons!

"Nebilim's going to force Caleb into revealing it, and **that's** going to make Martel seal his heart once and for all!"


	34. Chapter 34

34

The surge of electricity pouring into him at the teleporter pad had been startling, which was something Caleb felt only for an instant, followed by a blast of pain, the mana channels in his body flooding with the energy and scoring along the charms engraved on the metal. If he was of the mind to describe the feeling, it would be something along the lines of having a thousand sharpened razor blades slicing into his soul.

He twisted involuntarily, screaming as he tried to get away from the blast of electricity that held him in place. The faint voices of the kids behind him barely registered to him, and then everything went dark.

* * *

_"Hey, Caleb!" Lloyd exclaimed with pleasant surprise, waving at him from just outside his house, "What brings you to Iselia?" Caleb jogged up to the brunet with a laugh, the massive white mana beast that accompanied him trilling happily._

_"Just thought I'd drop in for a visit!" the android replied, stopping in front of the red-clad swordsman. He shrugged, one hand resting on his satchel. "Wren sent me to Iselia to pick up a few ingredients for his restaurant while he went to Murin to get the rest. Since I was in the neighborhood, I figured I'd visit and see how you and the family were doing." Caleb smiled, a bright and pure expression that had Lloyd's face soften._

_"You're **really** not like him, are you?" he murmured, and shook his head with a grin when Caleb blinked at him, puzzled, "Nothing." He gestured towards the Wonder Fork strapped to the redhead's back. "Does Adam know you're carrying his fork around?" Lloyd asked and Caleb nodded, looking over his shoulder at the gleaming metal and wood utensil._

_"Yeah, he gave it to me when I promised I'd wait for him to be reborn in the future and asked that I return it to him when the day came that we met again." the android returned and looked faintly sheepish, "Still kind of shocked that we were able to make this one together, after that chef war destroyed the original Wonder Fork." Lloyd shook his head, chuckling as he set his hands on his waist._

_"You did good work crafting it. All that's left is learning to use it yourself!" he teased, laughing as Caleb playfully complained, -'This thing only works for Wonder Chef-class cooks! How am **I** supposed to get that good if I can't taste food?'- "You'll have plenty of time to practice! C'mon in; Colette would be glad for the company. Maybe you can help us get the kids to settle down, too!"_

* * *

_"Don't you get it? They took **everything** from me!" Asch snarled, hand trembling with fury as he leaned towards his companion, "Everyone I loved, everyone I cared about, my friends, my family, my life! All of it!"_

_"Oh, I get it." Caleb returned coldly, expression unmoved as the wind lifted his hair and coattails, the Wonder Fork strapped across his back, "I understand what you're feeling perfectly. Know what might help?" The armored redhead lifted an eyebrow, intrigued. Caleb reached behind himself and pulled out an ornately decorated sheath holding a beautiful sword. He tossed it towards Asch, watching him catch it easily and examine the hilt of the sword, sliding the blade out to smile at its wicked design._

_"A lovely gift, my friend. And what, pray tell, may help me with my loss?" he murmured. Caleb smiled, a freezing expression that made Asch feel a little less confident in his situation._

_"How would you like to be known as the Bloodlust General?"_

* * *

_Caleb hummed to himself cheerfully as he bounded up the steps to the house with the sacks of ingredients in both arms. His little visit had sidetracked him for a day or so, nothing too bad. With Pepper's flight, the android was able to make it back to the Voraci household while the fruits and vegetables were still fresh. He pushed the door open, letting himself in._

_"Wren! Ginger! I'm home!" he called out, hooking an ankle back to nudge the door shut. His hearing picked up soft sobs, and Caleb followed the sounds, concern replacing the cheer. He moved through the house to the den, stopping at the entrance as he took in the sight of the raven-haired confectioner sobbing on the sofa, her children crying in a huddle nearby. Raine Sage sat by the woman, sad expression on her face as she rubbed Ginger's back gently._

_He was confused. Why were they like this? What was Raine doing here? The half-elf lifted her gaze, spotting the redhead at the entry._

_"Zelos? ...No, it's you, isn't it?" she greeted softly, "Caleb..." He nodded, still confused._

_"What's going on, Professor?" he returned, gaze drifting to the rest of the Voraci Family in concern, "Did something happen while Wren and I were away from the house?" Raine stood up from the couch, walking to stand a few feet in front of the redhead._

_"There was... an altercation... in Murin..." she began softly, the same expression of grief on her face._

_Caleb dropped the bags of ingredients, eyes wide._

* * *

_"Aww! I almost had it!" Arche complained, straightening on her broom as she floated before the ruins of her targets. She snapped her fingers in annoyance and looked down at the redhead standing there, giant fork in hand. He shrugged._

_"Well, it was a good try." Caleb remarked and smiled up at the half-elf witch, "Want to give it a rest for now? I can whip up a lunch for everyone." Arche cooed, eyes sparkling as she floated down to his side._

_"Ooh~! I'm feeling exotic today; can we have okonomiyaki? Please?" she pleaded, batting her eyelashes at the android as he laughed._

_It sounded hollow, empty of real joy._

* * *

_The rain beat down on the smoldering ruins of the town, shallow puddles in the streets and fragments of shingles dangling from what was left of the roofs of the buildings. Wood and stone alike was blackened, dark with soot and ash and the rust-red of long dried blood. Figures lay everywhere, twisted and burnt beyond recognition, some laying in piles and others half inside houses or shops. The clouds were dark and roiling over the town, and the occasional flash of lightning would illuminate the remnant of the sign that once proclaimed this to be the town of Murin._

_Caleb knelt in the street, eyes wide as he stared out at the horrors of the dead town, fingers digging into the dirt and cobblestones, not even caring that the rain soaked his clothes and made his hair cling to his face. It blended with the constant streams of tears running down his cheeks. He was the only speck of color and life in Murin, a dot of green and bright red in the center of all the black and gray._

_He uttered a soft sob, then finally forced himself to rise to his feet, letting the rubble fall from his hands limply. Then he turned and began walking away, head bowed, as the rain continued pouring down. The Wonder Fork remained strapped to his back, the metal prongs shining brilliantly with every lightning flash. He walked, and began his journey again, a journey that would carry him through many rebirths of the world called Symphonia._

* * *

"Nngh..." Caleb groaned softly as his motor function systems came back online. He lifted a hand to his head, rubbing it gingerly as he ran a quick diagnostic check on his internal systems. The shock must have scrambled his personal memories for a second or two, put them out of order as they were pulled up. He sat up, pulling the Wonder Fork into his lap as he noticed and then blinked at the sudden appearance of the people before him.

Those clothes, those neckerchiefs, those utensils...! His eyes widened and he gasped, scooting backwards from them in shock.

"It can't be!" he blurted out, "You're all Wonder Cooks, aren't you? The Wonder Organization's back?" He looked around desperately for the other teens. Where were Raven and his friends? Shouldn't they have also come through the teleporter? Or...?

The trap!

"The Wonder Organization has existed for centuries! Who are you to know of our secret assembly?" one of the cooks demanded, prodding him with his spoon. Caleb glared up at the young cook, about to snap back a retort, only to halt when another voice interrupted, cutting into the air.

"Is that the one who spared our greatest secret?" a voice tainted with a light Italian accent questioned. The cooks all snapped to attention, stepping aside quickly and saluting as Caleb slowly got to his feet, a mix of emotions painting his face that had his eyes wider than they've ever been before. The Wonder Fork remained tightly gripped in his hand, and he could only stare before himself as the one who spoke stepped into view with a playful bounce in his stride.

He wore a green traveling version of the chef's clothes, a red cape draped down his back from where it was wrapped around his neck, and a white chef's hat sat on top of his head. He was blonde, short-haired, his fringe swept aside to cover one of his blue eyes. His face was youthful, almost pretty, and very, very familiar.

* * *

Danny sucked in his breath sharply, staring at the figure as his friends gaped at the change in situation.

"Wonder Organization? That thing you were talking about back in Valerie's level?" Sam asked in surprise, "He was serious about it? These people are seriously secret agent cooks?"

"More than that." Danny whispered, lifting a hand to point at the lithe chef in green clothing, "That's Caleb's best friend, the Wonder Chef himself. He's the leader of the entire thing."

* * *

"It can't be...!" Caleb echoed softly, the tone of someone who found an oasis after years in a parched desert. Tears ran down his face as he reached a hand forward, wanting to touch but afraid to do so. "Is it... is it really you? Wren?" he cried softly.

The blonde chef blinked, then his own eyes widened in recognition, mouth falling open as a hand lifted to it.

"_Diosa mia!_ You... it's you!" he blurted back, tearing up as well. He choked on a sob and ran forward, arms out for a hug, "Caleb! _Caleb!_" The android matched his joyful cry, dropping the fork to catch the little blonde in a tight hug, lifting him off his feet as the redhead spun happily, laughing and crying.

"Wren!" he cried and finally set him down, framing the blonde's smiling face with both hands, "It's really you! Younger than I last saw you... h-how?" The blonde reached up, placing his own hands over Caleb's.

"Reincarnation. Well, actually a mana transfer, but the Organization had to wait until my new body was born before my soul could be placed in it." he explained tearfully and laughed, a short bark as Caleb pulled his hands away to run his fingers through the strands of golden hair, "We used your records to do it, can you believe it? If it wasn't for you keeping track of it all, I don't know if my memories would have stayed as intact as they are."

"Oh, Goddess, your memories..." Caleb breathed in wonder, stepping back and covering his mouth with both hands, eyes wide. He finally gestured towards the chef wordlessly before finding his voice again. "Are they...?" Wren smiled wider, nodding, and Caleb sank to his knees, grabbing the blonde's hands and gripping them tightly, pressing his forehead to them. "You're back." he sobbed, "Dear Martel, thank you, thank you, _thank you_, for letting him come back. Goddess, Wren, I've missed you so, _so_ much..."

* * *

Jazz blew into her handkerchief, sniffling as the group watched the scene in silence, smiles on their faces.

All, save for Danny, who had that suspicious look on his face again.

"They really were the best of friends." Valerie murmured with a wistful expression, "Look at them. Have you ever seen Caleb be that emotional before?" Her face softened further. "He looks so happy, truly happy. That's a joy so, so real it's almost a shame the rest of the world can't see this and be more like them. There wouldn't be any wars then."

"Yeah." Danny agreed softly, feeling his heart twist in place with pain, "Too bad it's all fake. Caleb's been blindsided; he's not going to survive this level."

* * *

Caleb picked up the Wonder Fork, turning it in his hands with a faint smile before holding it out to the blonde. Wren blinked in surprise and beamed up at the android, taking it into his hands.

"You remembered our promise!" he exclaimed, "_Grazie!_ Oh, Caleb, you've kept it safe for so long; it's just like I remembered it when I gave it to you!" The Wonder Chef marveled over the utensil as Caleb gave an elegant bow, laughing. The remaining cooks finally drifted back to their stations around the ship's bridge once they realized their leader knew the stowaway quite well.

"I told you I would protect it until the day you returned to me." the android murmured with a smile. The blonde returned it warmly, and Caleb gasped slightly, clapping his hands together. "Ah! I almost forgot! I have some friends I want you to meet!" he remarked and looked around again, "We're traveling through the Book of the Underworld to fight Nebilim and burn it; I met them in their home city of Amity Park." Wren blinked, looking around with him in confusion. "I took the teleporter first, but it was booby-trapped and I was electrocuted. Maybe it shorted the trap and they made it through safely?" Caleb questioned worriedly, "They're young Heroes; Danny Phantom and his friends. Have you seen them?"

"I'm sorry, no. You were the only one that appeared on our ship's sensors." Wren told him and Caleb paused, giving him a strange look. The blonde sighed. "I don't know what's happened exactly, but you're talking about an event that happened almost two thousand years ago." he explained quietly, sliding the Wonder Fork into place across his back, "There was an explosion of demonic power in a place called Amity Park, and all the records we managed to salvage from the Archives said you were last seen there. You disappeared without a trace in the blast."

Caleb stared at his friend in shock. Wren sighed, shaking his head. "You showing up here, now? It's the first sign of you in twenty centuries." he finished, "You've missed so much, Caleb; more than you realize."

"Wh-what? But...!" the redhead protested weakly, one hand pressing to his forehead, "What happened to Raven?" Wren perked at the name, more attentive and puzzled.

"Who?" he asked.

"Raven, Danny Phantom, my friend..." Caleb tried to explain, gesturing pathetically with a lost expression, "He... he got past my perfect neutrality, and we became friends, so... I gave him a name..."

"Caleb...!" Wren sounded hurt, a faint look of betrayal on his face, "You tried to replace me?"

"No!" the android blurted out, waving his hands wildly, "I could never replace you! We're the best of friends, we're practically blood brothers!" He ran his fingers through his hair, sighing harshly. "I mean... we're kindred spirits. We've been through things together that would have destroyed us both if we were anyone other than who we are." he muttered and gazed down at the blonde. "Raven... was someone who reminded me of you."

* * *

"So now you're old news?" Tucker questioned, one eyebrow raised as he looked over at Danny.

"I told you something isn't right about all this." the halfa growled, "They're trying to convince Caleb that this whole quest is already over and done, and that we lost and he's the only survivor." Sam folded her arms over her chest, glaring at both the blonde and the redhead as they walked further into the bridge.

"I don't like how he just handed over the Wonder Fork like that." she pointed out, "He's just lost control of _Incineration_. This level's bewitched and disarmed Caleb in the space of ten, fifteen minutes. This isn't good."

"Nebilim's using psychology to nullify Caleb's strengths." Jazz added with a scowl, moving with the group as they followed the pair of old friends, "His defenses drop when around friends, right? They barely exist around this Wren guy."

They moved into the main part of the bridge, looking around apprehensively as the many cooks there worked on various computer consoles, giant utensils of various types strapped to their backs. No one seemed to notice the bunch of them, as if there wasn't a Goth, a young para-psychologist, a ghost hunter, a techno-geek, and a half-ghost just standing on the bridge of their little space ship right behind an android and a chef that had been separated from one another by countless centuries.

Well, no one... except for two officers on that bridge. And Danny noticed the presence of one of them right away when a puff of ice-blue mist drifted from his mouth.

"Ghost sense!" he exclaimed in surprise, hand lifting to just before his lips, "There's a ghost here!"

"It's gotta be Desiree, the Wishing Ghost!" Sam blurted out grimly, "Nobody make a wish!" She suddenly clicked her tongue derisively. "Darn it! Caleb can't hear us or see us because of Nebilim's booby-trapped teleporter! We can't warn him, and with all _this_ around him, you know he's **bound** to make a lot of wishes! Especially if they involve Wonder Boy over there!" Jazz rubbed her chin thoughtfully, snapping her fingers in realization.

"I bet this is why Danny's level was so simple in comparison to Valerie's level!" she exclaimed, eyes wide, "The more expansive and complex a level is to house a Trial, the more power it probably takes to create and maintain it. Nebilim must have used up a lot of power and resources on Valerie's level because it served _two_ purposes; it was Valerie's Trial for her sin, and it was a massive trap for Caleb to keep him from finishing the Key Crest and possibly destroy him." Danny turned to look up at her, startled.

"So the reason why my level was so small..." he began in shock.

"Was because he was building up power to create **this** one! The level meant to break Caleb once and for all!" Sam finished for him fiercely, her fists at her sides, "Without him and the Eternal Sword Pin, Nebilim figured we wouldn't dare use the Soulfire against him, not without killing ourselves too!" She turned to kick at a nearby cook in frustration, her heavy combat boot and leg just passing through the white-clad young man as if she were the ghost in the group.

They fell into silence again at that, gazing down at their shoes with dread on their faces. So that was it? Danny felt his jaws clench together at the thought. Without the team there to snap Caleb out of this little fantasy world, he'd strand them in the Book. They were trapped, and by the very guy who had hammered it into their heads just how much that would be The Epic Suck for them and for the world outside.

He ran his hands through his hair, gripping his head tightly as his mind raced, trying to think of something, some way out of this, some loophole. There had to be **something**! His eyes drifted to the redhead paying attention to the little blonde with a stunned expression. More surprises from his precious Wren?

"Caleb, please!" Danny whispered helplessly, "Don't listen! That's not Wren! That's not the friend you lost so long ago! He died, he died because he was human!"

* * *

"I can't believe it." Caleb whispered once the Wonder Chef finished explaining things. The redhead glanced away, a fresh wave of tears making his eyes shimmer, the green light shining as he assimilated the new data. "You're saying that I disappeared, and because I was lost for so long, Martel went insane and started enslaving whole worlds? She took over Symphonia... I mean Earth, and started traveling through space to other worlds?" Wren sighed, rubbing his head before nodding. "I just..." Caleb shook his head fiercely, "I can't see Martel doing that! She loves the world! All the life on it, everyone... she'd never hurt them!"

He gripped the edge of the console before himself, imprinting the cushioned fiberglass under his fingertips before pulling his hands away from the console.

"And, the Wonder Organization was recreated to fight her? On these starships that travel the galaxy?" he murmured, "You... you're going to try to kill my sister..."

"She traps the planet under a massive mana shield that repels everything." Wren explained firmly, "We try to beat her Seeds to the worlds, and when we fail to destroy them, we try to slip some of our ships and cooks onto the planet before the shield is completed, so that we can at least keep the people fed and healthy while we search for Martel herself." He reached out, tapping at some keys on the touchscreen console, and the field of stars on the giant screen before them vanished. In its place was the image of a massive tree, huge and beautiful, and floating through space in a bubble of mana, its roots wrapping around a chunk of earth. "This is what the Yggdrasill looks like now. Martel travels through the galaxy with her Tree, and produces the Great Seeds that make up the bulk of her forces. Each Seed, when it lands on a planet, germinates and creates another Mana Tree, which creates the shield around that world and maintains contact with Martel." the Wonder Chef went on grimly, his hands resting lightly against the sides of the touchscreen, "The only way to shut down the mana shields on the enslaved worlds is to find Martel herself, and destroy Yggdrasill." He sighed, bowing his head. "So yes, Caleb, we're pretty much looking for Martel to kill her. I'm sorry." he whispered.

* * *

"No! That's not good!" Danny blurted out, panic racing through his whole body. Mithos had a powerful connection to his sister, a loyalty and love that was so deep, he went completely insane with grief at her death. Martel dying was the reason why he created the whole Chosen thing and separated the worlds and put so many people through ages of suffering. If he was right in his suspicion about Caleb, and Martel was 'killed' in this level...!

"I'll say. If she goes, what's gonna happen to Earth?" Sam pointed out, completely missing why Danny was worried. Her eyes lidded in suspicion as she tilted her head, gazing up at the viewscreen. "Her tree's beautiful... but I wonder. What goes on under those shields of hers when she puts them up?"

"Yeah, the Yggdrasill Tree is supposed to act as a protector and provider of mana, right?" Valerie questioned, arms folding over her chest as she studied the image herself, "If we look at this from Martel's point of view, she's trying to save those worlds by planting Seeds on them that will cover them in life-enriching mana. So does this make the Wonder Organization the bad guys?" She twisted her lips in confusion. "That doesn't make sense either. We don't know as much about the Wonder Organization as we do about Lloyd and his gang fighting Mithos and Cruxis."

"No, we don't. But Danny might know." Jazz put in quietly, watching her little brother glare at the blonde chef trying to console a heartbroken android. "Caleb told him more about his life, and from the way he reacted to everything, it's a safe bet that most of Caleb's early adventures were closely connected to the Wonder Organization."

"We can fill in the rest using the Archives and their online database." Tucker supplied helpfully, patting the laptop in his arms.

Sam reached out and placed a hand on Danny's shoulder, startling the halfa, his eyes wide with surprise as he snapped to look in her direction. She gave him a questioning look and he returned it with a tight smile before gazing back at Caleb and Wren.

"Okay. I don't know a lot about them, but between what I know and the Archives, we should have a handle on how things work here." he finally replied with a deep breath. He shook himself off and turned to his friends. "Without that, we won't have a chance at figuring out the real story here and using that to get Caleb to snap out of it and see that this is all a lie." he went on, "And no matter what, we can't let Martel get killed!"

"Doesn't look like Caleb's on the boat with that one either." Valerie remarked dryly, "But he's also not completely against listening to the Wonder Chef's reasoning. He's waffling."

"He's torn between two loyalties." Jazz sighed, rubbing her fingers against her temple, "Oh, just great."

* * *

"It's a lot to take in, I know." Wren murmured, watching Caleb struggle to come to terms with everything, "And, yeah, it was a huge shock to me too. I remember how kind and gentle she was, a perfect Goddess of Mana." He managed a small smile, the expression growing as Caleb returned it with his own grin, green eyes meeting blue.

"Even when she was yelling at us for being stupid?" he returned dryly. The blonde shrugged, rolling his eyes as he lifted his hands.

"We were younger at the time, you most of all!" he exclaimed, "Not like we were the most brilliant people back then. You were, what? Six months old? Maybe eight?" Caleb scoffed, reaching out to flick a fingertip across the end of Wren's nose.

"I was a full three seasons old!" he declared haughtily, then gave the chef a faintly odd look, "You know, you're not speaking Symphonian language right now; we've been talking in modern-day Earth English." Wren nodded.

"Yeah, I was raised to speak and understand English, even though all of my memories of my past life is in angelic, Old Runic, elven and Symphonian." he replied and gestured for the angelic android to follow him as he walked away. "Maintain course!" he ordered the crew and smiled at his companion, "C'mon. Let me show you to some quarters you can use while you're with us. I'll explain how the new Wonder Organization is put together once we're there."

Caleb nodded, following the blonde quietly and pausing only long enough to give the bridge a puzzled, worried look. It lasted only a moment, then he shook his head and jogged to catch up to his friend, unaware of the group of teens that tagged along with him, clustered almost protectively around him.

* * *

"The Wonder Organization during Caleb's time was this huge assembly of cooks and chefs with one main purpose." Danny began carefully, one finger curled over his chin as he considered what he knew. The teens sat in a circle on the floor of Caleb's new room, half their attentions on the fact that the redhead and the blonde were sitting at a table nearby, chatting amiably while Wren outlined the new Organization. "They made sure that the people of Symphonia had healthy food to eat, meals that were prepared to serve a family of eight from ingredients that could barely feed three people. These were like miracle dishes."

"The same kinds of food that Caleb cooks for us?" Valerie asked in surprise, pointing at her arm, "That stew he gave me once made this gash in my arm disappear like nothing ever happened! You're saying regular people came up with those recipes and made food that could do all that?" Danny nodded.

"Yeah and no. I'll get to that in a bit. Cooking with limited ingredients was their greatest skill. These cooks trained like crazy to be able to make these kinds of foods with even the skimpiest of ingredients." he went on, spinning a finger in the air, "That's because the Wonder Organization was created to help fight famines and make food last through droughts and stuff. Ever notice how Caleb doesn't seem to use a lot of ingredients when he makes our meals, but we always feel full and super-good when we eat?"

"I just figured he was good at working with what he had." Sam mused aloud, tapping a fingertip against her lips, "That was a requirement of training for this Wonder Organization?"

"Those are actually some great skills. Why keep it a secret?" Jazz questioned and Danny's face went grim, his arm stretching out to point at the blonde gesturing as he talked with Caleb.

"Because of him. The Wonder Chef. That's the Organization's second purpose for existing. They all work together to hide and protect the Wonder Chef; he's not just their leader and the very best chef in the world, but he carries that Wonder Fork and knows something called the 'Ultimate Recipe'." he answered darkly, "Caleb explained it like this. Imagine having the head chef of a five star-restaurant make all your food for you. Imagine how awesome it tastes, how healthy and great it is for you. That's the level of skill a run of the mill Wonder _Cook_ has. Those are the grunts of this Organization!" The teens stared at him, eyes wide with awe. Danny nodded, mouth set in a thin line. "Now. Keep that in mind. If the average Wonder Cook is like a five star chef, then their leader is twice as good. Wonder Cooks can hit the kind of skill level a Wonder Chef has now and then, and you can tell because of the way the food tastes and what it does, but they can't do it constantly. The Wonder Chef _always_ hits that high mark, and his food is not only healthy and delicious, it can act like miracle medicine!"

"Ah! The stew!" Valerie cried in realization, "It healed the gash on my arm! And the fruit mix Caleb gave to Qwan to cure his headache! That's the skill level of a Wonder Chef?" Sam snapped her fingers.

"The mixed punch that he gave me in Valerie's level wiped out my concussion and headache in one go!" she blurted out, eyes wide. "You're saying that the Wonder Chef can cook like that **every** time, and he's just a normal _human_?" She stared at the halfa, then looked up at the little blonde laughing at something Caleb had said, then back again. "He doesn't even look any older than Jazz!" she added incredulously, "And you're telling me that he can whip up any dish in the world and have it do some kind of magic healing or something?" Danny nodded, folding his arms on top of his knees and resting his chin on them.

"So, if things as simple as juice and stews can do all that," Jazz murmured in a puzzled tone, "what's so special about this ultimate recipe thing?" The halfa shrugged. "He didn't tell you about that?"

"Caleb tried, but he..." Danny began, a strange look on his face as he recalled that particular conversation in Welgaia, "It's weird, but he looked like he just blanked out. He said, 'It's the ultimate recipe of life and death'; his words, not mine." He held up his hands, perplexed. "I know, I know. Doesn't make much sense, but when he tried to explain it more, it was like something was making the words stick in his mouth." the halfa went on, "As if someone had... tampered..." He trailed off, eyes wide as he snapped around to stare up at Wren. "He did! Caleb said that Wren had done something to him once, and erased a huge chunk of his memory, plus did some tweaks to keep him from trying too hard to find that lost piece of memory! I bet Caleb knew more about the Ultimate Recipe back during Symphonia, and Wren erased his knowledge of it to protect it!" he cried in realization, straightening up like something zapped his back, "The Wonder Chef's main purpose was to know the recipe and keep it safe, hidden! His cooking skills had to be the best of all, in case he actually needed to **make** that Ultimate Recipe!"

Tucker hadn't spoken at all since they first sat in the circle, alternating between listening to Danny and listening to the two friends sitting at the table. He kept most of his attention on his laptop, PDA in one hand displaying a series of codes that he typed into the Archives of the Twin Blades online directory. Seeing the internet connection had not broken in the transition from the last level to this one meant either one of two things; two thousand years from now, the internet's still going and was in serious need of an update, or Caleb's squeaky clean bestest best friend was telling one hell of a lie right to the android's face. Tucker scowled at the thought, then returned to his task.

The search for information had been going well, until he started prodding for records of the Ultimate Recipe. Things turned sketchy then, with the barest of notes and a lot of requests redirected to a system that absolutely refused to budge to his demands for access.

"This one's got some serious protection on it." Tucker sighed, rubbing his head, "I threw one of my best hacks at it; I could've sworn it beat the thing to deletion and laughed at me!"

"Give up on getting past that security system, Tuck." Danny told him flatly, "Caleb himself couldn't hack it, and for a good reason." The techno-geek gave him an incredulous look. "It's a virtual copy of Caleb's own mind and personality, like an online twin. It learns as he learns, so you're facing down Caleb himself." the halfa explained, rolling his eyes, "And we know how stubborn he can get about making himself into a perfect little wall."

"Well, I'll deal with it later. Check what I managed to find out anyway." Tucker replied with a shrug, bringing up various windows, "That Ultimate Recipe you're talking about? It's _ancient_, like 'older than Mithos and Martel's baby pictures' ancient. At the time Caleb was brand-spanking new and wandering about barely knowing anything, that thing was about seven thousand years old."

"Anyone ever make it successfully?" Sam asked, pulling the laptop open a little more to peer over the top of the screen at the windows.

"Yeah. Two people; the recipe's original creator, some guy everyone's calling the First Wonder Chef -that's an actual title, by the way- and the True-Blood Wonder Chef... Adam Voraci." Tucker replied, clicking on windows until an image popped up, the smiling face of the blonde that was now sitting by Caleb and loudly denying some embarrassing story or another.

The teens looked between the photo and the actual teen several times before giving the screen a collectively dubious stare.

"Yeah, like I'll believe that." Valerie snorted, rolling her eyes, "How about what it does? Can we see that?" Tucker clicked between the windows, pulling up another page.

"Sketchy, but there's a record." he replied, peering at the window and scratching his chin as he read off of it, "It's conditional, from the looks of it. According to the record, if a Wonder Chef with a pure heart makes the Ultimate Recipe, a single bite will restore life to the lifeless. But if a Wonder Chef with hate in his heart makes it, the smallest taste with destroy a person completely." The group stared at him in shock, the techno-geek still puzzling over that before snapping his fingers with a bright look. "I bet it's fruitcake!" he exclaimed, looking around as the teens groaned and fell back against the carpeted floor.

"Tucker, I would hurt you if we didn't need you alive to keep the Soulfire up." Sam grumbled, one arm slung over her eyes. After a moment, she lifted it, one eyebrow raised, "Hey, wait a second. Why's Adam called the True-Blood Wonder Chef?" She sat up, giving the blonde a suspicious look before turning it on Caleb. "Caleb never mentioned that about him, did he? Wonder if that's in the Archives...?"

* * *

"So besides being the Wonder Chef, **again**," Caleb remarked with a chuckle, shaking his head at Wren's exasperated shrug and cry of 'I just can't get away from it! It's not my fault I'm good at cooking!', "you're the Grand Admiral of the Wonder Fleet?" He sipped at a glass of water, thinking it over. "That's odd. How were you able to prove that you were Wonder Chef-class if the Wonder Fork was with me all this time?" he asked in confusion, tapping a fingertip against his cheek.

The blonde fiddled with his own glass of water, considering his words carefully. "I was... automatically given the title... because I'm a perfect reincarnation of my old self. My memories, my skills, it all transferred over into this body." he murmured, "Officially, I'm the Reborn Wonder Chef. My name is Adam Voraci the Second, but I made a demand that I be called Wren casually." He managed a smile. "I told you it was a more comfortable name for me." the blonde added, glancing up at Caleb. The android tilted his head, giving him a puzzled look.

"You didn't want to use your real name?" he questioned and Wren shook his head.

"Nah, I like the one you gave me. Made me feel more real than my own name did back then." he answered, and stretched his arms over his head, yawning. A strange expression flashed across Caleb's face before it vanished, replaced with an amused look.

"Tired?"

"Yeah, but I have to finish my shift on the bridge. We're heading to the next planet, hoping to beat the wave of Seeds." Wren replied, getting up and patting Caleb on the shoulder, "Get some rest. We'll catch up some more later, okay?" The redhead nodded, gazing into his glass as the blonde moved to the door, touching fingers to a panel that had it slide open with a soft hiss.

"Wren?" Caleb called out suddenly, making the teen pause and look back at him, "In Hima, you erased a part of my memory; remember that?" The Wonder Chef nodded slowly. "Can you tell me now what it is that I've forgotten? Is it safe at last for me to have that memory?" Caleb pressed, hands clutching the glass tightly.

"Not yet. Wait for me just a little longer." Wren returned softly, "We'll talk about it later." And with that, he left the room.

Caleb gazed at the now closed door, sighed, then folded his arms on the table just enough to drop his head on them and hide his face. He held that for a minute or so, then suddenly slammed a fist down onto the table, rattling the two glasses. He got up, sighing harshly and looking around.

"Raven! If you're invisible right now, drop it! Let me see you! Let me know you're here!" the redhead hissed and dug his hands into his hair, "I want to believe this is real; I want it so badly." He fought back fresh tears, looking around himself. "It **has** to be real. I scanned him, when I touched his face, I felt it... that mana... it's Wren's, it **has** to be him." he whispered and hugged himself, pacing the floor. "But you're real too! I know it! I have your ectomana signature, I have records and memories of you!" Caleb protested weakly, "But I can't pick it up now, it's like you don't even exist! Where are you? Are you even here? Didn't you take the teleporter? You were supposed to wait five minutes and then follow me; it's been longer, so where are you?"

* * *

"Damn it." Danny sighed, hiding his face in his hands as he stood before the android hugging himself tightly, "I'm right here, and he can't pick me up! The teleporter couldn't have fried his sensor systems, he's not acting damaged!" Tucker tapped at his PDA, shaking his head.

"One percent, like he said. He's pretty much perfectly okay." the technophile reported, "That jolt of electricity was probably there to stun him and make us hold back while Nebilim set things up to have us be the ghosts here."

"Divide and conquer." Sam huffed, reaching out to spin the laptop around and study the windows herself, "With us out of the way, Nebilim can focus on convincing Caleb that he was imagining us or something and with the Wonder Chef as the perfect incentive to believe it, he's more likely to go to the reality he wants."

"But he's still searching for Danny." Jazz pointed out in a troubled tone, hand hovering just before Caleb's face and passing through his fringe without making even the slightest change in his torn expression, "And now here's another layer of split loyalties. He's torn between following the Wonder Chef and following Danny, two people who are very much alike in thoughts and personality." Valerie nodded slowly in agreement, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Hey... you think this has something to do with his sin?" she asked, wagging a finger at the redhead, who was now searching the room, running his hands over the walls meticulously, "That big one the Spook was gabbing about?"

"Probably. Maybe." Danny replied, feeling a weird conflict of thoughts on that, "But... no..." He growled, ruffling his own hair roughly. "I don't know! It could be Caleb's sin, but it could also be the sin of the soul inside him!" Jazz gave him a look, the one that said she was getting the idea that he knew more than he let on and if he didn't talk and fast, someone was going to be sharing embarrassing stories about a certain little half-ghost brother. He gave her a warning glare in return. "I don't **know**! Maybe I've got a suspicion, but that's all it is, and I can't even trust it because it was Nebilim that's been hinting at it." he repeated more firmly and gestured at Caleb, "Let's just focus on trying to get him to realize we're here. Can we touch anything in the room?"

Sam reached out and stuck her arm through the bed nearby, waving it around before pulling it back out and waving it at Danny. All this, and she didn't bother to look up from the laptop. The halfa rolled his eyes. Okay, so they were intangible to everything and everyone except for each other. That didn't help anything.

* * *

Negative. Negative. Negative. Caleb growled under his breath as he pulled his hands back from the walls. If the half-ghost had come through the teleporter after him, then he should have at least tried to follow him around, even invisibly, which meant phasing through the walls of the ship and leaving a trail he could scan. But he got nothing. There wasn't a trace of ectomana anywhere! No ectomana, no Danny Phantom.

With a sigh, the android flopped onto the bed and then fell back against it, arms stretched out as he gazed up at the ceiling. So if he couldn't pick up Danny, did that mean that he really didn't exist? Then, where did the records come from?

"Something's going on. There are things that aren't quite right here." he muttered and rolled to one side, thinking it over.

He'd vanished from Earth two thousand years ago, and during that time Martel became twisted and enslaved the planet, then left to do the same to other worlds. To combat her, the Wonder Organization was recreated and turned into the Wonder Fleet, flying through space to fight Martel's Seeds and provide food for the worlds that didn't escape being sealed.

But that went against Martel's personality. Yes, she'd be sad and grieve the loss of her little brother, but the two of them had agreed long ago that no matter what happened, the world was to be kept safe and the beings on it free to live as they chose. Doing anything else would endanger the Yggdrasill Tree, since it needed the love and adoration of the people to survive, and last Caleb checked, enslaved people weren't exactly the happiest around.

"Somebody's lying to me." the redhead growled softly, and he couldn't help but yearn deep inside that it wasn't his dearest friend.

* * *

"Well, this is a bust." Sam sighed, her tone dry and flat. The teens had phased through the closed door of Caleb's room, leaving the android to rest while they explored the ship. She walked by Danny, her arms folded over her chest as she scowled at no one in particular. "Stuck in a level that practically caters to our guide's greatest wish, can't touch anything, no one can see us or hear us..." she went on grouchily, "This is like being in the Ghost Zone, but without the fun or the danger."

Valerie rolled her eyes, then glanced aside as they passed another room, its doors open. She halted, one hand reaching out to grab someone by the arm, in this case Jazz's, as she pointed into the room in shock. Jazz opened her mouth, ready to protest being grabbed, when she also spotted the interior of the room and stood still. The rest of Team Phantom walked ahead several more steps before realizing they were missing two people and headed back hurriedly.

"What happened?" Danny demanded, blinking as Jazz just pointed into the room, mirroring Valerie's earlier gesture. The halfa followed her outstretched arm and peered into the room, Sam and Tucker doing the same.

Inside, the room turned out to be a very large kitchen, the ship's galley, and various chefs and cooks were all busily cooking, preparing dishes, and reading off recipes. A line of cooks stood before the Wonder Chef, the blonde looking oddly smug and pleased with the people before him. Each cook held a dish in their hands, presenting their completed work to the young chef for judging. The sheer number of people, the varying types and presentations of food and meals, was all stunning to see.

"Look at all that food! And we can't eat any of it!" Tucker wailed, running in to marvel at the dishes more closely, eyes watering as if to burst into tears at any moment. He gave the Wonder Chef a vaguely jealous glare as the blonde tasted each dish and then gave a rundown of the food and preparation to the cook presenting it.

"He's got kind of a point." Sam agreed dubiously, looking over at Danny in concern, "Caleb's the one who carries the rations, all the ingredients for cooking. If we can't touch him, or get in touch with him, how are we going to eat? Fighting without food to give us energy or heal us is just a really bad idea." The halfa scowled a little in return, put off by those words for some reason.

"I can cook! I've done it a couple of times before, remember?" he protested and the Goth shrugged, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah... but you're not Wonder Chef level, and Caleb's still got the ingredients." she pointed out with a shrug. Jazz wandered the galley, marveling at the speed and efficiency of the cooks before tentatively touching one of the carrots set aside for use in some dish. When it wobbled slightly under that bit of contact, she squeaked and jumped back, eyes wide and growing larger when she realized she'd just passed through a cook rushing by with a beautiful cake.

"Danny~!" she began, hurrying away from the food to grip her brother's shoulders, oblivious to his now flat expression as Valerie went to join Tucker at the rapidly filling table full of food. "Danny! _Danny!_"

"WHAT?" the halfa finally exploded, throwing his arms out in exasperation.

"I can touch the food!" Jazz whispered to him excitedly. That caught the attentions of Sam and Danny, the only ones close enough to hear that whisper. The Goth directed this new knowledge towards the table of food, hurrying forward to join the huntress and techno-geek to share the tidbit and sneak out samples of the dishes left on the table.

Danny, on the other hand, had a new idea. They could touch food, but not people. Did that extend to utensils as well? He absently murmured for his sister to go ahead and eat, then floated over to delicately tap his fingertips against several spoons and forks, pots and pans, testing them. And it turned out that, yes, he could touch them. These things were solid and he could push the utensils around. When he was sure that no one was watching him, Danny reached out and picked up a spoon, twirling it around before setting it back down. He gave it a thoughtful look, one eyebrow raised.

He could touch ingredients, he could touch utensils; this meant he could cook, but what good was that? As much as Danny didn't like to admit it, Sam was right. He just didn't have the same skill that Wren did, couldn't make a dish that could heal a wound, or clear up a headache, or cure cancer or whatever.

How could touching food help him?

As he pondered on that train of thought, the Wonder Chef finished sampling the most recent dish, turned his glance aside at where Danny stood in thought... and let the corners of his lips turn up in a little smile.


	35. Chapter 35

A/N: Caleb's Trial is harder than I thought it would be. I'm trying to keep a good balance on how much the two sets of characters get the spotlight, but Danny's group should be getting more of the emphasis. After all, Caleb's being drawn into the level, so it's up to Team Phantom to find a way to break out of the trap and get some sense back in his head. For those looking to find some background info on Caleb, the ToS fics I've written will provide a lot of the missing data. Otherwise, just hang around Danny and co.; they'll be getting some inside info on him really soon.

* * *

35

Caleb decided he'd had enough rest and headed out of the room, making his way back to the bridge by following his own little mental map. It was tiny, since he hadn't had the chance to explore, and he made the mental note to do that later on. For now, he just wanted to check on the ship's bridge crew and see if he could find any other familiar faces.

The door slid aside at the touch of his fingertips to the panel beside it, and Caleb jerked his hand back, startled at first, then giving his hand a faintly suspicious glare before letting it drop back to his side. Entering the bridge with every intention of scanning the crew, he instead found himself greeted by the blonde Wonder Chef almost immediately, his hand waving eagerly towards him.

"Ah, Caleb! I was just thinking of going to see you!" Wren exclaimed with a laugh and patted the empty seat beside him, "Here. I saved this spot for you. I don't have a First Mate, so that's a perfect position for you. Did you have a chance to process everything? It's only been a couple of hours since that talk, so I know you couldn't have been asleep." Caleb gave him a weak smile, accepting the seat and leaning back to run his hands through his hair, more for a slight distraction as he tried to fully organize his thoughts. Wren watched him with a fond expression, the Fork held lazily in one hand. "You changed your hair." he added idly, "You used to look exactly like Zelos, but not anymore."

"I had to modernize it about a millennia or so ago." the redhead returned with a sigh, letting strands of his fringe fall from his fingers just as lazily, "According to some people, it looked rather refined and foxy." He rolled his head to one side, gazing at his friend with a faintly neutral expression. "Those people are dead now... have been for a long time, according to what humans now consider as 'long'." he added quietly, "And so have you. You've been dead for countless generations, you know." Wren gazed back, nodding slightly.

"I have been. But I'm back. Just like I promised." he returned, and smiled warmly, patiently waiting for Caleb to smile back before facing forward to gesture out at the bridge, "So, have you got a grip on the Wonder Fleet? How we're set up and run?" Caleb sat up straighter, steepling his fingertips together with a smirk.

"From what you've told me, you're basically divided into three major fleets of ships; yours, your sister's, and your cousin's, and to be honest, hearing the name of your cousin was just as much a shock as anything else." he began, watching Wren nod before going on, "Each ship, save for the fighters, has a massive galley dedicated to training the majority of your cooks and chefs for countering whatever horrors you say Martel is bringing down on these planets."

"You _still_ don't believe me about what Martel's doing?" the blonde asked in exasperation, "When's the last time I misdirected you about anything?" Caleb gave him a flat glare, arms folding over his chest. "Hima doesn't count!" Wren yelled, face turning red, "That was to protect the both of us, you know!"

"DuGorge and his Dark Chefs **still** took me hostage." the android growled, tugging gently at several strands of the smaller chef's hair, "You owe me for that trauma! I told you I hate-!" He stopped suddenly, blinking at Wren a few times before letting go and sitting back, suddenly subdued. "You're commanding this fleet of ships towards the nearest planet, and a few hours' travel behind us are Eve's fleet and Gluttonious DuGorge's fleet." he went on in a more sedate voice, "They'll be meeting with us later on to coordinate an attack on the Great Seeds bearing down on that world. If your fighters can't destroy all the Seeds, you'll just send one of the galley-equipped ships down to land on the planet before the mana shield raises completely." He glanced aside at the chef. "Is that the crux of it?" Caleb asked quietly, watching the blonde as though in anticipation. Wren gave him a strange look in return.

"In a nutshell? Yeah." he returned, eyebrow lifting at the android's relieved expression, "You've been acting strange. Are you sure you're all right? We still don't know how you were teleported onto the _FireBlossom_, so your systems might be a bit..." He yelped when Caleb suddenly twisted in his seat, gripping Wren's shoulders and staring wide-eyed into his face.

"What did you say?" he blurted out, "The what?" Wren blinked in confusion before realization finally dawned on him, cheeks turning a shade of red at the sudden change of subjects. He carefully lifted a hand and pointed upwards.

"This ship, my flagship." he explained slowly, "I named it the _FireBlossom_, in her honor." He watched Caleb's expression go from awe to a tearful smile, an ancient sadness in the way his mouth curved, and the chef seemed to realize something himself, blue eye widening slightly. "Caleb... where **is** Pepper? You've never traveled without her if you could help it, and she's supposed to be as timeless as you are, being a mana beast and everything... I thought..." he whispered faintly, beginning to tremble, "I thought she was with you... I remember she was with you, the last time I saw you... just before I died."

Caleb only shook his head, a sad and guilty expression on his face.

* * *

"What's this?" Sam wondered, her fingers tracing over an insignia displayed on a screen in the galley, "Looks like some kind of gryphon, but none I've ever seen in Goth art." She tilted her head, taking in the image of a white and red beast with wings spread from its back and wearing something like a green collar with a golden sphere. Intrigued by the design, she read the name that spun slowly beneath it. "_FireBlossom._ That's a pretty cool name for a ship." She ran a finger along the collar, "This looks familiar..." She turned to the others finishing off their gourmet lunches and set her arms akimbo. "Are we done stuffing our faces?" the Goth asked dryly.

"Even if it's not like Caleb's cooking, this stuff's still awesome!" Tucker exclaimed with a laugh, pushing away a plate that used to hold several slices of a honey-glazed spiral ham and generous portions of potatoes and collard greens. He uttered a satisfied burp -which gave Valerie reason enough to scoot her chair further from him- and sat back with a grin. "Okay, so what's next? Do we keep following Caleb around and try to haunt him into realizing what's happening?"

"We still don't know how this level really works... what it's ultimate goal is." Jazz pointed out seriously, watching Danny as she spoke, "We know from what Danny said that this level is supposed to reveal Caleb's one big sin, something that's going to make Martel lock him up and throw away the key. It has to do with these Miracle Cooks..."

"Wonder Organization." Danny corrected half-heartedly, attention on something else.

"Whatever. Point is, Caleb's sin must be tied to this group. We figure out what this group means to him, how they're connected, and maybe we'll get a few clues as to what Nebilim's planning here." the carrot-top muttered, tucking a stray strand of hair back behind her ear, "We know what the Organization did in the past, how they basically operate and why they exist. What we have to learn is how Caleb got tied up in them; he couldn't be as good of a cook back then as he is now, right? He can't taste anything."

The teens all sat back in their chairs, lightweight steel seats that were suited for the galley, easy to clean but not easy on the body. A collective sigh of exasperation and faint frustration rose from them.

"That info's not in the main Archives; I already checked." Tucker told them, annoyed, folding his arms behind his head to cushion it.

"He got involved by accident. Or maybe it was fate, considering he got his soul only a week or two before they met." Danny muttered, twisting his fork in a tangle of vegetables that looked more like moldy shoelaces than greens. He glanced up at the teens staring at him, then went back to playing with his food. "The Wonder Chef got jumped by these guys called the Dark Chef Alliance. They're like chef terrorists or something, I dunno." the halfa went on with an uncaring shrug, "They cook just as well as the Wonder Organization, even have their own version of the Wonder Chef, but their food is meant to get people addicted so they always have control. Thing is, they can't get _absolute_ control until they get their hands on the Wonder Fork and the Ultimate Recipe, so they had to capture the Wonder Chef." He finally pushed the plate away, frowning at it. "Long story short, Caleb got in their way of getting rid of Wren, and then kept doing it because they'd become friends. ...Does this food taste weird to you guys?"

Team Phantom blinked at him, baffled by the sudden change in subjects before turning their gazes onto their plates. Why had he brought **that** up? What did the food's taste have to do with anything?

"It tasted delicious to me. Very tasty." Valerie remarked with a smirk, "_This_ is what food should taste like." Danny still didn't look too convinced by that, but he shrugged it off, slowly, then lifted his head to think something over.

"So Caleb and the Wonder Organization were on the same side." Sam summed up, gesturing with both hands to one side as a demonstration, "Their leader and Caleb were best friends; that would explain why Caleb learned the Ultimate Recipe." Her expression suddenly went blank, as though it tripped over something, backtracked, and then hit a wall. "Wait a second..." she added, scowling as she shot up from her chair, palms flat on the table as she leaned towards the halfa, "I thought you said that Caleb's memory of it got erased! Why would that happen if he was on the same side as the Wonder Chef?"

"Didn't you hear what was said back in Caleb's room?" Jazz pointed out matter-of-factly, "It wasn't safe for Caleb to know it back then. There's the possibility that the Miracle Cooks were suffering from extreme paranoia concerning their centuries-long duty of protecting the Wonder Chef and the Ultimate Recipe, and considered the added burden of Caleb knowing the recipe too much of a strain on their resources." She smiled at her own cleverness, nose lifting as she folded her arms over her chest. "So to relieve that burden, the Wonder Chef deleted the recipe from Caleb's memory." she finished proudly. At the lack of applause, she opened her eyes and looked around herself, finding that the galley was completely empty. She'd been ditched.

One eye twitched at the sight before Jazz yelled at the top of her lungs. "You're not allowed to ditch in a Trial Level!"

* * *

He had looked over everyone in the bridge, but of all the cooks there, only Wren was familiar. Caleb couldn't help but feel as if that should have been more comforting, because it wasn't. Something inside him was railing against everything, strained to turn and run whenever he got close to the cheerful little blonde, and it was a struggle to ignore it and focus.

This was what he wanted! He had waited and waited and waited _so long_ for this day...!

"If only I'd been more patient, Pepper." the redhead whispered, gazing out at the stars. He blinked at the sudden contact on his arm, looking aside at Wren's concerned expression.

"Everything okay?" the chef asked. Caleb gave him a long considering gaze, unsure for the first time he could remember of what to say to his best friend. He wanted to speak freely, the way he'd always done with him before, but that one part of him was still screaming to run. But he couldn't lie either, not with that gentle and innocent face looking up at him, full of trust and good nature, that familiar face that belonged to the one person in all Symphonia that he'd defied his own soul to protect.

"Where's the galley?" he finally returned, getting up from his chair, "I relax better when I'm cooking." Wren jumped to his feet, Wonder Fork still in his grip. Caleb noticed how he hadn't let go of it since he'd handed it back, at least not while he was around to see it.

"Oh! Follow me then! I think I could use some cooking too; now that I've got the Fork, I want to really prove my skills to it and to everyone!" the little blonde exclaimed brightly. He walked ahead, leading the way with a bounce in his step. Caleb followed behind at a calmer pace, face carefully neutral to hide the storm of conflicting thoughts in his head.

This was what he wanted, to be with his long lost friend again. It took thousands of years, countless eons, and many hardships and sacrifices, but he'd reached his ultimate goal; reuniting with Wren, picking up almost exactly where they'd left off. It was a dream come true.

So, why didn't this feel right?

"Raven, can you hear me? Please, answer me." he called out softly, projecting his voice on every frequency he could think of, "Raven, can you hear me? Please, answer me. Raven, can you hear me?..."

* * *

The galley was stocked with every kind of ingredient and cookware imaginable. Two pots were heating water to boil as Caleb and Wren stood side by side at the nearby counter, chopping vegetables in eerie unison with their movements perfectly mirrored. They chatted idly about the ingredients they were using, what recipe they were making and what changes might have been made over the centuries. From what the blonde spoke about, every one of the Wonder Recipes remained exactly the same.

"They've been preserved as they are since they already do so well. Changing them didn't bring us any results that equaled or bettered the overall effects of the original recipes, so we just kept them as they were." Wren explained, sliding his chopped vegetables into one of the pots. The android frowned slightly, then shook off the uneasy feeling that gave him and added his vegetables to his own pot.

"Has Ginger returned as well?" he asked and the little chef chuckled.

"Are you going to go right back to getting me married off again? Too bad, Caleb; Ginger Spicewood wasn't taken in by Martel, so her soul broke back down into pure mana." he returned and started picking through the jars of spices, glancing aside at Caleb's more somber expression. "Don't be like that. I was sad about it too, for the first few months. But I had to move on; there were worlds in trouble and my knowledge of the Ultimate Recipe was needed to save lives."

Caleb's hand froze over a jar of black satay. Why did that last statement sound... wrong? But it was fact that Wren would know the recipe, being the Wonder Chef and everything. It was passed down only to the Wonder Chef's successor and forbidden from being written down or recorded in any other way. The only way to keep the Recipe alive was to teach or tell it to the successor directly, and since Wren's memories transferred over he still knew it by heart.

"Oh. That's true." he finally murmured and pulled his hand back, "Actually, I'm still a bit overwhelmed. I'm sorry, Wren, but I think I'll go and rest a bit more." He gave the blonde a slightly strained smile. "Would you forgive me for leaving this soup in your care?" he asked, and the little blonde gave him a pout, lower lip jutting out childishly before letting it transform into a winsome smile.

"It's fine. I'll handle it. You go and get your rest; I may need your help on the bridge later and you should be at full capacity first." Wren replied brightly, plucking up the black satay and unscrewing the lid. As Caleb gave a short bow and walked away, leaving the galley, the Wonder Chef frowned and glared down at the two pots, screwing the lid back onto the jar. He reached into his pocket, setting the jar aside, then pulled out a small gold disk and flicked it open. "I need two cooks in the galley to finish preparing chicken soup." he ordered and clapped the disc closed, walking away from the stove to sit at the table once laden with food, then glancing at several empty plates before allowing a tiny smile to form on his lips.

* * *

He hadn't gotten any response to his calls while in the galley, even though he was broadcasting through himself, allowing him to call out while still speaking normally. It put a little more strain on Caleb's resources but it was either that or look crazy for running around the ship and scanning rooms at random. The android was now back in his quarters, arms folded over his chest. There was no denying that he was happy beyond words to have Wren back. It brought back memories of his old life, before learning all those things that made him want to just rip out his own Tri-Crystal System and be done with life entirely. Memories of exploring the world together, seeing everything for the first time, the awe and wonder and excitement of experiencing brand new things and adventures; memories of being innocent, oblivious, and happy with his part in life.

But at the same time, Caleb was bound and determined to find the truth behind everything. Danny Phantom _did_ exist at one point, he had the records to prove that, but he was no longer here. They'd been traveling through the Book, and now he was here, alone, reunited with Wren but divided from Raven. One bird lost, another bird found. If that teleporter was a trap, then logically, he should still be inside the Book, and all of this would just be a huge lie created by Nebilim.

Yet, Wren had his memories, every one of them, and his mana was a match to his records. He was whole, he was _real_, and something real couldn't exist inside the Book on a scale this grand. So either Wren had somehow been reincarnated and then sucked into the Book and then lost all sense of reality, or Nebilim pulled out all the stops in creating this level. But why? Why create a level that catered to what he wanted most?

Caleb stiffened, eyes widening as a sudden thought struck him. Everyone else had faced Trial levels, revealing their sins for all to hear and see. Was it possible that... this level contained...?

"Martel! Can you hear me?" he yelled suddenly, desperate for a response. He reached out for his sister, extending a link that surpassed death and time and space to make contact with the only true family left to him in the universe, "Martel!" He reached out further, shutting his eyes to focus entirely on establishing that link... and a violent backlash hit him, throwing him off the bed and against the far wall. The android slid down to the floor, staring out at empty space in shock, a hurt expression replacing it soon after. What was that? Why had that happened?

_"Are you rejecting me? ...No! My sister would never say those things! You're lying! Heh heh heh ha ha ha ha~!"_

"No! That's not my memory!" Caleb screamed, clutching his head tightly, "She said those things to save you, but you didn't listen and you died! You _died_! You're dead and you're not me!" He sat in a huddle, curling in on himself to further block out the intrusion of foreign memories. He shuddered, gave a soft sob, then cried out again. _"Raven! Where are you?"_

* * *

The lights flickered and Danny lifted his head to blink at them. Sam and Tucker were busily arguing over which dishes were the best to eat, divided once again by their personal tastes, but it seemed half-hearted. Like, they were more interested in eating than in fighting over what to eat. Valerie refereed mostly by threatening to eat whatever it was that caught their attentions for that moment.

"What was that?" Danny wondered under his breath, glaring at the lights as though daring them to do it again.

"What is it, Danny?" his sister questioned in concern, her textbook open on her lap. She'd found the group had escaped to the lounge and promptly dragged them back to the galley, where the halfa spent a majority of their time there just glaring at Wren when he and Caleb started cooking soup, then ignored the blonde when the android left. Now they sat around the table, picking out plates of whatever was left over from the cooking while Jazz set to reading the _Symphonian Cultures_ textbook in hopes of finding some way of identifying a sin based on the chefs around them. Danny kept to himself, growing withdrawn as the minutes passed.

"The lights flickered, didn't you see?" he returned, waving a finger up at them, "Like, some kind of power surge." Jazz gave the ceiling a suspicious look of her own, then sighed and set the book down in front of her brother.

"Look here. Any mentions of the Wonder Chef has a code attached to it, but those codes don't exist in the main Archives. The Wonder Fork appears there, yes, but we can assume that it's simply because Caleb's been using it all this time." she began, rubbing her chin thoughtfully as her brother looked over the words, "What if there's a second Archive? One just for the Wonder Chef? If Caleb is as obsessed with the Organization as he is with his friend, then wouldn't it be reasonable to assume he would take the bulk of their data and create a special, separate database for them?"

"That's probably why we couldn't find the data on the Wonder Organization." Tucker agreed, surprising the Fentons with his attention. He looked between them with wide eyes. "What? Sam and I got bored of arguing, so now we're just listening to the two of you." he remarked, "What's the second Archive? If we knew the name of it, I could probably get access to it."

The teens huddled around the book, searching it for clues. Not far from them, the door to the galley opened again, and a small boy with silver-white hair entered, dressed in the prim whites of a cook, a red neckerchief tied around his neck. He looked around the room carefully, a faintly grim expression on his face, before spotting Team Phantom at the table. He blinked a few times, then sighed, bending to let his arms hang almost tiredly before straightening back up.

"I should tell Martel to send Regal next time. This chess game's such a pain!" the boy complained and walked past the cooks in the galley working on the two soups, flinching when he accidentally walked through one of them. "That's just creepy." he added under his breath and made his way to the group of teens. They were so focused on the book that none of them seemed to register the fact that the boy had just joined in their huddle, arms folded on the table as he blinked at the book.

"Well, if we try and think like Caleb, we might get it. What would he name an archive dedicated to the Wonder Organization?" Sam mused, peering at the words like they'd tell her the answer if she glared enough. The boy blinked at her.

"That's easy enough. He called it the Wonder Archive." he told her and now all eyes shot to his face, surprised expressions all around as the teens jerked back. "What is it? Never seen a half-elf before?" he questioned in equal surprise.

"Agh! You can see us?" Valerie exclaimed, pointing at the boy, "Wait, I know you! You're one of the Sages! The little one!"

"Hey! I hit my growth spurt! I grew a whole inch that summer!" he shot back in irritation, "And yeah, I can see you! I can hear you too. Martel sent me in to balance the playing field again, but it looks like Nebilim's pulled another trick, so she'll be sending in more help for you guys." He held out a hand, grinning widely, "Genis Sage, from the time of Ratatosk's awakening. Nice to meet you; Lloyd's told me a lot about you guys."

One after another, the teens shook his hand, still a bit stunned by the appearance of another of the Heroes of Union. Why were they being sent into the Book more often? First Welgaia, then Danny's level, now here? They'd gotten used to the fakes appearing to battle against them, but having the souls of the real Heroes showing up was just too weird!

"What are you doing here?" Danny asked, not entirely trusting of the boy's appearance, "You're not here to try convincing Caleb to get put under that spell again, are you?" Genis shook his head.

"Nope, we've got bigger problems." he replied firmly, "Besides, I was sent in to synch with you guys. Nebilim's first trick for this level was to separate you from Caleb, shifting all of you just a little out of phase from him so he can't see, hear or detect you himself, and it keeps you from being able to touch anything but food and cooking items in order to stay alive." He reached out to poke at Danny's chest. "Namely you. He can't escape Ratatosk's seal if you're not able to hold him as a vessel."

"And how does that tie in with you being here?" Sam questioned suspiciously, folding her arms over her chest. Genis sighed again, lifting his hands in a shrug and shaking his head.

"Didn't Caleb tell you several times already? Nebilim has to play by the Book's rules in order to escape through it. If he breaks or bends them to his favor, Martel gets the power to do the same in order to balance the levels." he explained, "It's a little like a card game, but the fighting's done by what's on the field; you never see the cards and the field has to have an even number at all times. Nebilim puts down cards to tip things to his side, and Martel gets to put down an equal number to keep the game fair." He placed a hand over his heart, a serious look on her face. "I'm her first card, here to help balance her mistake."

The teens looked at one another in concern. A mistake? Martel had made a mistake? When? How?

"What do you mean?" Jazz asked of the boy. Genis looked downcast, as if he were about to cry.

"Martel made the mistake of sending in Lloyd and Kratos to seal Caleb's heart again. She should have waited until you were all out of the Book, but she panicked a little." he began softly, "She'd been worried sick ever since she first lost contact with Caleb in the Welgaia level." Danny blinked, thinking back to that time. It was when they were able to rescue everyone that had been kidnapped from Casper High, including Jack and Maddie Fenton. A massive army of robots had been on its way to execute them all, and Caleb had demolished a huge portion of his systems fighting them before shutting down until he could be repaired. Had him going offline like that sent a signal to Martel that he was in trouble and she sent Lloyd to help?

"That was when Caleb went offline because of the damages." he finally murmured and the teens glanced at him in shared remembering before returning their attentions to Genis. The boy nodded.

"Martel and Caleb are in near-constant contact, like a psychic bond. When it gets interrupted, Martel freaks. I mean, he's her little brother and everything." he went on, "Anyway, by sending in Lloyd and Kratos, she put in two cards she wasn't supposed to, and that gave Nebilim just the loophole he needed to create a level that would split him away from you guys. This is his Trial, but he's supposed to have help from his party to get through it." Tucker rubbed his head, wincing as he tried to wrap his head around that.

"And how does that equal Lloyd and Kratos?" he muttered, "He didn't seem too happy to see them, even before they started arguing."

"We used to be a party, with Caleb." Genis sighed, tracing a circle around the textbook with a fingertip, "Back when we were trying to avert the Wonder War, and when the Angels of Vinhelm tried to resurrect Mithos. A party for a party, that was the loophole. Lloyd and Kratos combined are very powerful, more than a match for all of you guys, so Nebilim separated all of you from Caleb to make it 'equal'." He lifted his hands and made quote signs in the air with his fingers. The teens nodded in understanding, but Sam still looked a bit puzzled, scratching her head as she seemed to think things over more carefully.

"Well, if us being separated is balancing Martel sending those two, then how is it that you're able to come here? Did Nebilim do something to throw things off?" she questioned and Genis lit up, a wide smile on his face.

"Hey, you're pretty smart for a human!" he exclaimed, laughing sheepishly at the glares sent his way, "Sorry. Old habit! But yeah, he bent a rule his way. He's got an agent on the same synch as you guys, doing things to keep you distracted from Caleb's movements." He shrugged, "Some ghost lady, I don't know much about her." Team Phantom looked at one another, knowing looks in their eyes. _Desiree._ No doubt now, she was definitely here. "But since she's operating on your wavelength, Martel sent me in on the same synch to help you." Genis looked up at Danny, determined expression on his face.

"You're the leader of the party, Danny Phantom. Will you accept me as a member?" the half-elf asked. Danny swallowed hard, mouth dry as his mind raced. One of the Heroes of Union, joining him? Actually being part of his team? It was almost unbelievable!

"Uh... sure..." he managed to stammer out, blinking at the boy with wide eyes, "Welcome to the group? Is there some special thing we have to do?" Genis laughed, shaking his head.

"Nah. Just accepting me is all I need to make sure any spells I cast don't hit you guys." he told them and looked to Tucker, "You wanted access to the Wonder Archive? What for?"

Team Phantom filled him in on the scattered bits of information they'd managed to gather about the level, and added the growing number of questions that were arising from it all. Genis listened in silence, that grim look on his face again. He nodded slowly at some points, flinching at others, then finally sat back and sighed.

"You won't be able to get access to the Wonder Archive, that's for sure. Caleb sealed it from even himself." the boy remarked bluntly, "All the information in there is for the Wonder Chef's eyes only; that's why it's password locked and set with Caleb's own personality as a security guard. Only a true Wonder Chef can break the lock and get to all that info." He lifted his hands again in another shrug, and Danny was beginning to see it as something of a signature gesture for Genis. "I talked to Adam about it, and he said that he was the one who designed that lock, implanting it into Caleb's mind so it could be built without Caleb knowing what it was he was creating or what the password could be."

"Wait, Adam as in Adam Voraci?" Sam blurted out, grabbing the boy's shoulders suddenly, "The real Wonder Chef?" When he nodded, she gave him a little shake, "Then bring him here! If the real Wren's in here, he can snap Caleb out of this illusion!"

"He can't!" Genis exclaimed, startled. He shook his head quickly, almost in a panic, "Martel made that her number one rule; Caleb and Adam can never face each other again, not while he's part of her."

"Why not?" Danny demanded, shooting up from his seat and glaring at the boy, "Caleb's going to keep us stuck here because he thinks Wren came back to life! If you show him the real Wren's soul...!"

"They **can't** meet!" the half-elf declared in exasperation, pushing Sam's hands off him, "It was part of the conditions of the spell that Martel cast the first time, when she made him perfectly neutral. Caleb had agreed to it! They can never meet in death!" He trembled, tears now beginning to run down his cheeks. "As long as Martel has Adam's soul, he won't be able to meet with Caleb because Martel won't let him go. And since Martel closed off access to her tree for the passing of other souls, if Caleb ever dies, he'll never go to Martel. His soul will be lost forever, and he'll never be reunited with Adam."

They stood in silence together, gazing down at the boy before looking at one another with helpless gazes. Caleb knew this condition as well, since he agreed to it. This just made it harder for them to be able to talk him out of the illusion, if they were able to find a way to talk to him at all.


	36. Chapter 36

A/N: Unbeta'd.

* * *

36

"Okay, can't contact Martel from this side." Caleb muttered in frustration, storming down the halls with both hands shoved into his pockets. Cooks and chefs ducked out of his path as soon as they saw him coming, spotting his darkened expression and deciding not to test his temper. "That's fine. For now." he added under his breath. It just added more weight to Wren's argument, that Martel really had gone insane and wasn't going to be listening to anyone's reasoning. The redhead considered that a bit more, then fingered the Pin on his jacket. If Wren found Martel and the Yggdrasill Tree, then maybe he could use its power to restore Martel's mind. That way, she wouldn't have to be killed and he'd get to keep both of them.

He was being greedy and selfish, but Caleb wasn't in the mood to care. He'd sacrificed plenty over the centuries, it was about time he got his rewards for it.

The doors to the bridge slid open only a split second before he barreled through them, and he spotted Wren look up at him in surprise from his seat in the captain's chair.

"C-Caleb! What are you doing here? I thought you were resting!" the blonde exclaimed as Caleb moved to stand before him, hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"I'll help you." the android told him in a flat tone, "Find Yggdrasill, get me close to Martel." He touched fingertips to the Eternal Sword Pin, watching the chef's eyes be drawn to it and widen, "I'll take care of her."

"You're willing to destroy Martel with me?" Wren asked in disbelief, eyebrows raised, "But... are you sure? She's your sister! She gave you your soul, helped you get Pepper, gave you the Eternal Sword Pin; she was always there for you, no matter what...!"

"She denied me **you**! All of that didn't matter as long as I had **you**! And when you were taken from me, it was **her** power that kept us apart!" Caleb seethed, real anger at the memory of that day pouring into his words. His plan to restore Martel and keep her along with his best friend was forgotten, swallowed up in the swirl of furious emotions. "I have lived for so long, seen so much, and it all meant nothing because you weren't there with me! She wouldn't let you be reincarnated, no matter how much I begged! The only thing that kept me going was the promise that you would come back, but she kept stopping that from happening!" He reached out, grabbing the Wonder Chef by the shoulders, "No more! I've had enough of her lying to me! I'm **not** letting her take you from me again. So find her tree, get me to her, and she won't have the power to split us apart **ever** again."

Wren nodded quickly, still startled, and Caleb turned away, hurrying out of the bridge to make his preparations. Once he was gone, the chef smirked and turned aside to the floating ghost woman that hovered just out of synch with the rest of the Wonder Fleet officers, her ebony hair flowing around her shoulders contrasting the luminous green of her skin and the glowing red of her eyes.

"Your turn to play." Wren murmured, "A little more pressure, a little more evidence, and Caleb's mine." The ghost chuckled malevolently and vanished in a swirl of purplish-pink smoke, the decorative trim of her harem dancer clothing tinkling with the motion of her body.

* * *

"So no help from the real Adam. Great." Sam muttered as the group explored the halls of the ship after making a stop at the galley to grab some sandwiches while the cooks weren't watching; Danny made himself a piece of toast with butter, ignoring the dishes of delicious food. She rubbed her head, irritated with the odds being stacked against them. "Well, what about getting someone to synch up with Caleb and tell him that all this is a lie?" Genis walked beside Danny, looking around himself as the other teens examined the various rooms and decks. The _FireBlossom_ had everything from the Galley to Engineering, but the button to reach the engineering deck required a password.

"Martel's working on that. I'm hoping she'll bring in Regal; anyone but Raine will fit in on this ship and not draw too much attention." the half-elf replied and peered at the button with a frown, "What kind of password does this thing want?"

"Who knows?" the Goth returned dryly, "Hey, Genis, can you talk to Adam anytime you want?"

"Pretty much." Genis answered with a confused tone, looking up at her, "We're all basically housed within Martel, acting like a council of sorts to help deal with Caleb. Long as he exists, so do we; just in case, y'know?" Danny folded his arms over his chest, finding the sound of that more than a little suspicious.

"In case of what?" he asked and Genis shook his head.

"Not my secret to tell. But if I ask Martel for direct communication to Adam, I can talk to him through the link. He's buried behind a layer of her protections; keeps him from getting summoned out of her by force." His attention moved from Danny back to Sam in confusion, "Did you need to ask him something?"

"Is this about that title in the Archives?" Tucker sighed, rolling his eyes, "Why are you still on that? It can't possibly be any important here." Sam shook her head, a thoughtful look on her face.

"We can't just assume that. The fake Adam mentioned his title for a reason, and the Archives had the titles First Wonder Chef and True-Blood Wonder Chef recorded for a reason, too." the Goth mused aloud and glanced towards Genis, "Like, telling Caleb his title is a way of him trying to prove he really is his best friend 'reborn'. Genis, ask Adam why he's called the True-Blood Wonder Chef."

The half-elf lifted his hands and shook his head, looking almost exasperated. "Well, okay. Give me a minute to get through to him." He had just closed his eyes when Danny suddenly shuddered and a wisp of blue mist wafted from his mouth, his own eyes widening in surprise.

"Incoming!" he exclaimed, thrusting out his hands to create a shield over the newest member of their party as shimmering pink smoke filled the hall, cruel laughter echoing around them. The teens grabbed for their ghost-fighting gear, Valerie summoning up her suit and suddenly jerking in surprise, her head rearing back slightly. One hand lifted to an ear, but no one noticed that movement, too focused on the figure that came into view just before them.

"Well, well, well!" Desiree crooned at them as she floated there, eyes narrowed and her pretty mouth stretched wide in a toothy smile, "I just bet you're all wishing you'd never met that foolish robot, aren't you? Just say the magic words and it shall be!" Her hands lifted, fingers wiggling at the teens.

"Nobody make a wish!" Sam yelled and glared at Tucker, "And this time, Tucker, I swear to God I will **kill** you myself if you slip up and say anything!" Danny charged up the Ghost Ray, wisely keeping his own mouth shut as he redirected his attention from shielding Genis to blasting in Desiree's direction. The ghostly genie swerved to one side to dodge the attack, rushing through to slip among them and wrap her tail around the half-elf.

"Let him go!" Jazz declared, throwing a jab at Desiree with her armored fist just as Tucker fired off a burst from the Fenton lipstick, a piece of Maddie Fenton's makeup kit that doubled as an ecto-gun. The ghost was knocked back, pulling Genis down with her as the half-elf grunted from having the wind knocked out of him, his eyes still screwed shut.

"This hall's too narrow to fight in!" Danny cried in alarm, diving to unwrap Desiree's tail from around Genis's body, "We can't get good footing here!"

"Then what do we do?" Sam yelled in frustration, unable to use her Jack-O-Nine Tails in the cramped quarters, "Dying here isn't exactly high on my list of 'Cool Gothic Ways to Go'!" Genis squirmed in place, trying to wiggle free of the angry ghost genie as Desiree lifted herself back into the air, hair spreading like some kind of cape of doom in her fury.

"Who is she?" he cried out in alarm, finally coming loose as Danny pulled the tail away from him and allowed him the space to slip free. The boy scrambled to his feet, spinning to face Desiree as a kendama materialized in his hand, the simple wooden toy and ball looking laughably pathetic for a weapon. Danny took to the front of the group, walling himself between them and Desiree, and firing off a barrage of Ghost Rays to keep her on the defensive.

"Make a wish, little wretch! Maybe you'll understand who you're facing if you do!" she hissed, her arm stretching and transforming into a whip that she used to lash at the halfa, hurling him backwards with a cry right into the group. Tucker fell back, grunting at having the weight of his friend suddenly thrown right on him. Behind them, the elevator door opened and Caleb stood there, a neutral expression on his face, the very same expression that perfectly masked any and all emotions he might be feeling. Tucker and Danny looked up in surprise, Jazz took Danny's place in the front, trying to blast Desiree with the Fenton Peeler's cannon.

Valerie stood beside the elevator, back to the wall and arms folded across her stomach. She hadn't done a single thing in the battle, not since she activated her Red Huntress suit. She turned her head to watch the android walk out of the elevator, right into the fray. Sam flattened herself against a wall, startled to see Caleb come through the hall, oblivious to the battle raging there. Genis gave a little shudder, back stiffening as the android walked right through him. The half-elf had been flipping his kendama, a circle of light at his feet as he prepared a spell; the casting was disrupted with that surprising turn of events.

Jazz yelped when Caleb passed right through her, walking on towards Desiree. The ghost genie grinned down at the redhead, bending to leer at him, then suddenly letting the expression drop in favor of a startled one. She quickly shoved herself aside while Caleb walked on without breaking stride, turning at the end of the hall to head elsewhere.

The group of teens and the ghost genie all stared after the android in collective surprise and silence for a few seconds. After a moment, Desiree growled and lifted her arms, summoning a blast of pink smoke that was part of her teleportation. When it cleared, she was gone, leaving Team Phantom to their own devices. Danny sat up, blinking rapidly in disbelief that all of that really had just happened.

"That didn't end the way I thought it would." he remarked dumbly as Valerie deactivated her suit, mouth pursed together tightly.

* * *

The group retreated to Caleb's room, baffled by what had happened in that fight with Desiree. The ghost had just fled, ran from them, when she had the advantage on them. Team Phantom was cornered, backed against a wall -well, there was the elevator there that they'd been studying but getting in there with a crazy ghost outside was just **asking** Desiree to seal them in until they all died of asphyxiation- and then Caleb had just walked out of the elevator, down the hall, and around the corner. That was it. That was all it took to break the battle and end it. Just one redhead walking down the hall, minding his own business.

It was **seriously** creepy.

"He didn't even notice us, **or** Desiree!" Danny exclaimed incredulously and hid his face in his hands, "Argh! How are we gonna get out of this trap and get him to see that the Wren that's here is a total fink?"

"That's gonna be hard to do if we can't show him the real Adam." Tucker reminded him, resting his chin on his arms, supported by his knees. He frowned after a moment. "Why do you suppose Desiree freaked just looking at Caleb?" he added, looking over at Jazz, "You were closest to him. See anything?" Jazz shook her head, brows furrowed in confusion.

"His back was to all of us. Whatever Desiree saw that startled her must have been from the front." she remarked, blinking when Genis yelped from his place by Danny's side.

"Oh! That's right! Sam, you were asking Adam about his title, right? I got his answer." he told the Goth. The group turned their attentions to him collectively and he looked around with wide eyes. "Um, I didn't think the rest of you really cared about her question."

"We care about anything that can help us get the heck outta here." Valerie returned dryly, one eyebrow raised. Genis sighed, lifting his hands and shaking his head again. Danny wondered if all the Heroes of Union had a signature pose for when they started talking, then wondered what Caleb's might be. He'd pay closer attention to the android just to find out if he had one.

"According to Adam, he was given the title of the True-Blood Wonder Chef because of his name, his real one." he told Sam, taking in the confused looks being aimed at him from all around, "What?" Danny scratched his head, trying to make sense of the answer.

"He got his title because of his name? Adam Voraci?" Sam questioned and Genis shook his head.

"No, his real one." he corrected.

"Adam Voraci isn't his real name?" the halfa realized in confusion. Okay, that was making less sense than anything else that had happened since they first stepped foot in this level.

"No, wait. Yes. No." Genis rambled, trying to organize his words as he spoke them and failing utterly at it. The teens wrinkled their noses at him, trying to follow his train of thought as it jumped tracks. "His first name is real. He really is called Adam. It's his last name that's a cover." he tried to explain. He tilted his head, looking a bit distant, as if listening to something from far away. "He was born into the Voraci Family, so that's his last name, but... it's a shield. It's covering the name he inherited because of his blood. It's **that** name that earned him the title of the True-Blood Chef." he said distractedly before blinking and growing alert again, "Adam's words. I just repeated them as he was telling me. Martel's letting me keep a connection to him open. He can't show up to help us, but he can talk to us through me."

The teens looked at one another with some relief. It wasn't as great as convincing Martel to let Adam's soul out to play, but an open line to getting tips and advice from the real Wonder Chef was something.

"Hey, will Wren get mad that Caleb's been casting _Incineration_ with the Wonder Fork while we were here?" Danny suddenly blurted out. It was one of those questions that had been nagging at him ever since Welgaia, since Tucker's level, when he first used it and confessed that he didn't want to because it didn't belong to him. Genis gaped at the halfa.

"He's got control of the Wonder Fork?" he exclaimed in surprise, "Wow... this is the first I heard of it." He rubbed his head. "Um, lemme ask." he mumbled and his eyes went distant again. After a moment, he started repeating the answer back to the group. "The Wonder Fork was redesigned to let Caleb use it for his own protection. It's as much Caleb's as it is the Wonder Chef's. So, no, he's not mad. He wants Caleb to use the fork to its full potential, including casting its signature spell." Genis paused and blinked in surprise again before looking up at Danny, "He also said that if anyone wants to ask what his real name is, he's not going to tell us. Not until he sees the fake Adam."

"Well, that kills that question." Jazz sighed, rolling her eyes, "You sure he's a natural blonde?" Genis tilted his head, puzzled.

"What does hair color have to do with anything?" he asked, baffled as the teenagers face-palmed at the question.

An hour passed without much happening, no further attacks from Desiree and Caleb hadn't returned either. Sam and Jazz sat with Genis on the floor, filling him in on Desiree and explaining who and what Danny Phantom was to them, as well as shooting a few questions out for the Wonder Chef to answer through the half-elf. Tucker had left to track down Caleb, wondering where exactly he had gone during that fight with Desiree. Danny, in the meantime, pulled Valerie aside to a corner of the room, and that was beyond awkward. It was the first time since her Trial that it was just the two of them, face to face, without Caleb to play referee or Danny's personal guardian angel.

"What is it?" Valerie demanded to know almost as soon as Danny told her he wanted to talk to her. The halfa winced, then straightened his back. He couldn't afford to get shaky now, not in front of Valerie, not when they were in serious trouble together here.

"Back when Desiree was attacking," he began in a low voice, a thoughtful expression on his face, "I noticed you weren't fighting. You had put on your suit, but then just hung back. Why?"

Valerie narrowed her eyes and folded her arms over her chest, chin lifting almost haughtily. She probably thought she was looking intimidating, but the vibe that Danny read off of her just _screamed_ 'defensive'. She was about to hide something from him, and he was already not liking it.

"How do you think I was supposed to hit her with all your little friends in the way?" she retorted and Danny frowned. _"What?"_

"Nothing. Just... it just seems weird, that's all." he returned, holding up his hands for peace. Something was up with Valerie, something that happened when she put on her suit. Had the level somehow affected her when she put it on? But how? Why? This was Caleb's level and Nebilim had already put a ton of energy into creating this place to cater to the android. He couldn't possibly have enough left over to do anything else to Danny or his friends.

"Go haunt a bathroom, Spook." Valerie growled and lifted a hand to halt anything else Danny might say in protest, "You know what? Never mind. I'm gonna go back to the galley and get a bite to eat." And with that, she turned away and headed out the room, walking right through the door with her head up like she did that all the time. He watched her leave and sighed, shaking his head.

How was he going to get them all out of this?

* * *

Caleb had prowled the halls again after leaving the bridge. He took the elevators to different decks and just wandered, giving him time to cool as he kept broadcasting his call. Part of him was already scolding himself for what he had said. What was he thinking? He practically promised Wren he would strangle his own sister with his bare hands!

"Ugh, I can be so **stupid** sometimes!" he declared, throwing his hands up in exasperation, "If this is a level, maybe I'm being blocked from contacting Martel. And if I'm being blocked, then that's a violation of the rules!" He paused in the hallway and yelled towards the ceiling. "Do you hear me, Nebilim? You're in violation!" he screamed, "Give me back my connection to Martel!"

There was no response. Caleb supposed that didn't help matters any. If this was a level and he was meant to believe it, Nebilim wouldn't answer in order to keep the illusion going. And if it _wasn't_ a level, then Nebilim wouldn't be able to answer because he wouldn't be there. All of which meant that Caleb was still at square one, unable to tell if this was real or not.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing as the other part of him insisted that he just forget about the issue of whether or not this was real and just be glad that Wren was back. It was so, _so_ tempting to agree with it and take up his rightful place at the blonde's side.

The only thing holding him back, and tearing his loyalty in two, was his hope that Danny Fenton was somewhere nearby, on the _FireBlossom_. And so he kept calling out, and Caleb slumped against the wall tiredly, sliding down until he was sitting on the floor and bowing his head to hide behind his knees.

"I can't keep doing this." he mumbled to himself, "I have to choose." Maybe it was his programming from before he had sentience, maybe it was the appropriateness of his name, maybe it was some mix of the two or maybe it was just some cruel twist of his fate, but it was _physically_ painful to be divided in his loyalties to Wren and Raven. Something like a sword twisting and scraping in his abdomen, very similar to the day so very long ago when DuGorge -at time leader of the Dark Chef Alliance- plunged his giant fork right below the Tri-Crystal System and pinned him to a wall with just that. It had crippled him for a few hours, and Caleb had to make emergency repairs with pieces of Cybit circuitry while cringing in pain the entire time.

If he didn't commit to one or the other soon, he'd be in far too much pain to care about making a sound decision, and Caleb knew that he'd be a danger to both sides in a state like that, liable to destroy the two of them in order to save himself from the pain.

"Raven, _please_, answer me!" he begged once more on all frequencies he knew he had access to, desperate for something, _anything_, to respond.

_"Caleb?"_ Valerie's voice whispered in shock, and Caleb's head jerked back up, eyes wide and tearing up as hope and joy surged into him. Finally! A response! Not Danny, but close enough; if Valerie was there, then Danny had to be as well, and that meant...

That meant this place was fake. Caleb closed his eyes, holding back a sob at the thought. But he still grasped at straws. The level might be fake, but that didn't mean that Wren **himself** was fake. He had the mana signature, the memories, the mannerisms; this was Wren as he remembered him. He couldn't be fake!

_"Valerie, yes, it's me. Don't say anything out loud. Just listen."_ he murmured only through the frequency that Valerie was on. Which one was this? 102.7; the Fenton Phones' frequency. Why did it take so long for anyone to hear him if that was something the whole group had access to? And why was Valerie the first to hear him call out? _"Is anyone else wearing the Fenton Phones?"_

_"No. We're being attacked by a ghost; can you kinda hurry up and get here to help us?"_ Valerie retorted dryly.

_"I don't know where you are. I've searched as much as I can for all of you, but there's no trace of you."_ Caleb returned, bending to hide his face again. If the level was fake, then Nebilim could be watching over everything. He couldn't show that he had gotten in touch with Team Phantom or he'd lose that connection too. _"Do me a favor and don't let anyone know you can talk to me. Not until I can figure out where you are. If Nebilim's watching us, and he finds out we're communicating, he might kill this frequency."_

_"Oh yeah, that's right. We're on the ship with you but we're out of phase with everything. It's why you can't pick us up on your scans. We can't touch anything except food and cooking items."_

Caleb blinked, stunned by her report. They were on the _FireBlossom_ the entire time?

_"We'll talk more about it later. In the meantime, don't let anyone know we're talking. You're about to be our trump card, Valerie."_ he told her, getting up as calmly as he could and heading back to the elevator, _"Tell me what deck you're on. I'll see if I can do something to help with your ghost problem, but I can't make any promises. Magic doesn't work on them."_

_"Galley deck. Hurry, she's trying to take out Genis!"_

Another shock. What was Genis doing here? Caleb got into the elevator, touching fingers to the screen to get to the galley as his mind raced to make sense of things. Later, later, he promised they would talk later. Valerie could explain everything then. Right now, he had to try to help.

The elevator stopped at the proper deck and the door slid open to reveal an empty hallway, tunneling ahead until it split into two directions. Not a soul in sight.

_"Okay, you're here. I'm leaning beside the elevator on your left. The Spook and Tucker are on the floor at your feet."_

Caleb walked forward, neutral expression on his face to hide the swirl of emotions that he had finally found his companions, his friends, and they were out of phase so he couldn't find them in any way. His sensors scanned the hall furiously, but picked nothing up. His pace was steady, sure, more sure than he really felt.

_"Sam's to the side, you just passed her. ...You just walked through Genis."_

He moved on, yearning to stop and turn around and call out to Danny, let him know that he knew he was there. But he couldn't, not yet. Not yet. And he couldn't side with Raven right now, not if that choice meant rejecting Wren, and Caleb would rather die than turn away from his truest friend, his kindred spirit. So he walked on, shielding the fact that he was in pain behind the wall of perfect neutrality.

_"Just walked through Jazz. ...Desiree is right in front of you. ...She's right in your face!"_

And Caleb couldn't help himself at that point. He let the mask drop, a furious expression taking its place as he glared up right about where he figured a floating ghost would lean its head down. Then he mouthed two words.

'**Get**. **Lost**.'

Then the shield went back up. The whole thing happened without him missing a step, and he calmly walked on down the rest of the hall until he reached the split and turned the corner to another hall.

_"Whatever it was that you did, it worked. She took off, but she looked pretty freaked. Hope it's not something that'll come back to us later."_

_"Yeah. Me too."_ Caleb agreed, moving on to the kitchens. He needed to think, and that meant cooking and cleaning. _"Let me get my brain organized and we'll talk again soon. Say, in a couple of hours?"_

_"Right. I'll find a way to get away from the GhostBuddies and put my suit back on. That's how I heard you the first time. Talk to you later."_

There was silence again and Caleb sighed in relief, glad that he had a way of getting in touch with the rest of the party. He might physically be alone for this level -although he still cringed at the idea that it was his Trial- but he could talk to at least one friend that linked him to Raven. And that would make the pain a little more bearable for now.

* * *

Caleb spent an hour in the galley, washing pots and pans by hand despite one of the cooks pointing out helpfully that they had a massive dishwasher to handle everything. The chore kept him looking busy while he straightened out his thoughts and the new information he'd gathered from his short talk with Valerie.

The party was separated from him by being put out of phase with him and the ship. His connection to Martel had been blocked somehow, which was a severe violation of the rules considering that was a spiritual link and cutting it off was generally a Very Bad Idea considering who and what Caleb was, had been, and continuously denied having anything in common with. But he had a link to Valerie now, and that was good for grounding him for the moment. They just had to keep it a secret from everyone, otherwise they'd lose that bit of the surprise element to Nebilim. Caleb was still trying to figure out how the King of the Underworld had known enough about him to create this whole level about the time he spent with Wren, when he was just one simple, underpowered and unemployed servant android traveling with his best friend who just happened to be the Wonder Chef.

There was also the matter of Genis being here. He hadn't picked up the half-elf's mana signature, but he was with Danny's group so that probably meant he was also out of phase. Martel must have sent him in to join them in his place once she learned their connection had been cut. That ghost Valerie mentioned, Desiree, was also out of phase. Caleb felt guilty for the sense of relief that came from knowing that. Yes, she was the last modern ghost to be defeated, but her being on the same wavelength as Raven and his friends was a positive thing; they had the ability to fight her. Caleb would be helpless against the ectoplasmic entity. She might not be able to hurt him with her ghost energy, but she could just use physical attacks to damage him whereas he wouldn't even be able to touch her.

He set the last pot to dry on the rack and turned around to lean against the sink, watching over the number of cooks and chefs all working away at their stations. Something else still sat wrong with him; something Wren had said, about the Ultimate Recipe. He didn't know what it was, knew only that it was a secret recipe that the Wonder Chef guarded with his life and taught to his successor when the title was transferred. However it was made, whatever the ingredients were that went into, even what its real name was, all of that was a mystery to the redhead, but some tiny part of him insisted that what Wren had said about it was just **wrong**.

But how could the Wonder Chef making the Ultimate Recipe be wrong?

Caleb shook his head, pushing the thought away as he walked out of the galley. The fact remained that he now had the understanding that there was a high percentage probability that this was a Trial level, which meant he needed to get his hands on a weapon. Wren had the Wonder Fork now, which was good. He needed it to protect himself and it belonged to him. The angelic android had to find a suitable replacement. Caleb had always been partial to teaspoons; in his hands, they felt a great deal like swords, and he blamed Zelos for that part of his persona. He couldn't discount their usefulness, though.

The walls of the ship, all smooth white with golden accents and stark lighting, made every deck look just like any other, the monotony broken only by the placement of computer panels along the stretches of hallway. Caleb stepped out of the elevator onto the fifth deck, dedicated to combat training and weapons storage rooms. He touched fingers to one of the nearest screens, flinching at the image of the gryphon-like beast that was the ship's symbol.

"Pepper..." he murmured sadly, tracing a fingertip over the symbol as if petting the creature, "I am so sorry you're not here. You being gone... it's my fault. Why weren't you angry with me that day?"

The nostalgia and sad memories had to be set aside as well, as the list of weapon storage locations appeared on the screen. Just down the hall, turn right, third room on his left; storage for various types and sizes of teaspoons.

"Yes!" Caleb murmured with a smile and hurried down the corridor to get there and pick out his new weapon. Behind him, at the panel he'd just left, the air shimmered, the faint outline of a large figure just barely visible. It followed him, walking at a stately pace, almost unconcerned with its surroundings or the condition it was in. In turn, that figure was being followed by Tucker, who had picked up on Caleb's location in the galley, grabbed a sandwich, then followed the redhead all the way to this deck, looking puzzled by what the android had been mumbling at the console. When the air shimmered, the techno-geek had jumped in surprise, then chased after the outline, worried about what it was and why it was following Caleb too.

In the meantime, the redhead had followed the directions provided and stepped into the storage room for the teaspoons, whistling in appreciation at the racks and shelves full of the silverware. Some were very long, four to seven feet or so, made of anything from lightweight steel to sturdy iron and bronze. Some were shorter, ranging from three feet to one foot, and made with ceramic, steel, silver, gold, all kinds of metals, even organic materials like wood and stone. Some were simple, some ornately decorated, all of them beautifully crafted. Caleb smiled as he looked around, running his hands over their handles as he scanned them all, looking for that perfect combination in a spoon that would suit him best.

"This one feels like Damascus steel, but it doesn't have exactly the same properties. Hmm..." he murmured in interest, lifting one of the three-foot teaspoons in his hands to test its balance and weight, "Different manufacturing process? Iron source must be nonlocal to Earth, probably mined from an asteroid, with these kinds of properties." He gripped it in one hand, spinning it a few times as he took a practice stance, light on his feet and shifting his weight back and forth so that he looked almost like he was dancing. It had been a long time since he relied on a teaspoon and Zelos Wilder's fighting style for his own purposes, but he flowed back into it like he'd always used it. Hooray for being an android?

"This one. Definitely." Caleb remarked to himself as Valerie's voice called out to him over the frequency. Eager to learn more about what was going on on her end, he turned his focus on her voice, standing in the center of the storage room as he turned the spoon over and over in his hands. _"I'm here, Valerie. I can hear you. Now, tell me all about what happened with you guys. Start from the beginning, after I stepped on the teleporter pad back in Raven's level."_

He listened to the huntress explain the events that led to the separation of the party, oblivious to Tucker frantically waving his arms and screaming at him to watch out. The figure that had followed him was solidifying more and more, taking on a more complete appearance. Big, built, dressed in a chef's smock and slacks with the red neckerchief, the newcomer stepped up behind Caleb, arms and hands open wide.

_"...and then Genis said that since Nebilim cut your connection to Martel, she'll probably send in someone else to help, but we don't know which phase they'll be in, and..." _Valerie rushed through her words, trying to get everything across before she was discovered wearing her suit for seemingly no reason. Caleb processed her words as they came through, certain that he'd catch whatever he missed by replaying his memory, and his sensors suddenly alerted him of a familiar mana signature right behind him. One he hadn't felt in a **very** long time as well.

_"That can't be... agh!"_ Caleb began in disbelief and cut himself off with a startled cry, forgetting he was broadcasting to Valerie. He'd turned to confirm his sensors and found his mouth covered by a large hand, a strong arm wrapping around his torso to pin his own arms in place. He immediately began struggling, trying to kick at his assailant and finding himself blocked almost too easily.

_"Caleb? Caleb, what's wrong? Talk to me! What's happening?"_ Valerie cried in alarm.

"Dream some good dreams, Caleb." the taller figure remarked in a calm and even tone. Caleb immediately went slack, eyes closing as his systems switched off one after another, powering down for his Sleep Mode. Tucker stared at them in disbelief before slowly realizing what just happened. He peered more closely at the tall figure bending to grab the teaspoon and slide it into his belt before lifting the unconscious android in a bridal carry. It took him a minute of thinking, but he caught on and set his mouth into a grim line as he followed them out of the storage room.

Tucker continued trailing Regal Bryant, all the way back to the elevator.


	37. Chapter 37

A/N: Unbeta'd. Anyone interested in seeing what Caleb looks like, the link is at the top of my profile.

* * *

37

When Tucker ran into the room, waving his arms and telling everyone to stay calm and not freak out, Danny wondered if his friend's new surge of craziness was because of something he ate. He didn't care how wonderful the food from the galley tasted, he didn't trust it one bit; something about its taste the first time he ate it made him wary of the dishes and he took to cooking his own meals. Sam and Jazz both told him he was just being overly cautious, which only cemented his suspicions that there was something wrong with the food. Those two hardly ever agreed on anything without some threat of death or humiliation involved.

"Tucker, did you find drugs and try them out or something?" Sam remarked dryly, looking up at the raving teen from where she sat, sharing the _Symphonian Cultures_ textbook with Genis.

"No! Just, trust me on this. Don't freak out when Caleb gets back." Tucker insisted as Valerie ran in and blurted out, 'Caleb's in trouble!'

"Oh for the love of Martel, is he okay or **not**?" Genis complained, hands rising to hold his head as if being around the teens was giving him a migraine, "What are you getting worked up over?" Tucker just stared at Valerie in surprise.

"How did you know he was in trouble? I followed him from the galley to the weapons room and back to here, but I haven't seen you anywhere." he asked, baffled by how certain she had sounded. The huntress blinked and managed to put on a weakly shy smile.

"Um, woman's intuition?" she replied lamely. The door to the room slid open, and all eyes were drawn up to the massive figure that just seemed to swallow the entrance, his shadow falling over them like a premonition of doom. Danny shot to his feet, eyes wide at the sight of Regal carrying in Caleb, limp as a sleeping child in his arms.

"Caleb!" he cried out in worry, flitting around the man like a mother bird panicking.

"Regal!" Genis mirrored the cry, only sounding more relieved as he scrambled to his feet and hurried to his friend's side.

Regal set Caleb down on his bed and backed away with a sigh before turning his head to gaze at the surprised teens. The way he looked at them, it was like he could actually see them! Danny kept floating by the android, trying to guess at what happened just by looking at him.

"Danny, it's okay. He's just sleeping." Tucker tried to calm the halfa down, "Regal said something to him, like a code phrase, and it shut him off. You know, like saying 'Good morning, Caleb' to him snaps him awake?" He gestured towards the tall Hero in crisp white chef's clothes, the blue-gray of his hair an elegant contrast to them. "He said something like it and Caleb just powered off."

"His Sleep Mode phrase." Genis confirmed, nodding his head, "Altessa had programmed it into Caleb when he was first built, just like his wake-up phrase, but it was never used. We never needed it; not until the Angels of Vinhelm tried to revive Mithos." The half-elf sighed, lifting his hands in a shrug as he shook his head. "Once Caleb learned what exactly the Angels were planning to do to him and Adam, he tried to destroy himself in the Temple of Lightning. Altessa taught us the code so we could shut him down before he could carry out his plan. Other than Altessa, only the Heroes of Regeneration know what that phrase is, so we try to keep it that way."

"Did you hear it, Tucker?" Jazz asked the technophile curiously. Tucker shook his head.

"Regal sort of muttered it. I only caught Caleb's name at the end of it." he replied and Genis nodded.

"Good. We don't want to give Nebilim that phrase; it'll give him the power to destroy Caleb without a fight." he told them firmly and turned to look up at Regal, "Regal, why did you shut Caleb off in the first place?"

"He was in the weapons storage room and seemed to be distracted by his thoughts. Trying to talk with him there about the false Adam would have been... unpleasant." Regal returned, startling the teens again by the fact that he had heard Genis's question, despite the half-elf being out of phase with him. "You all look surprised. It's all right." the duke explained calmly, "I was sent by Martel on Caleb's wavelength to balance the level, acting as his liaison to her and vice versa. Part of that duty involved me being able to communicate with Genis, who is on your wavelength. I can see you, but I can't touch or hear you, so you'll have to talk to me through Genis." He bowed slightly towards the group.

"My name is Regal Bryant, and I appear as I did during the time of Ratatosk's awakening." he greeted, "I'd like to do proper introductions, but I've already learned your names from Lloyd and Kratos and we don't have much time to waste. We need to find a way to reunite you with Caleb on the same wavelength, convince him that this Adam is false, recover the Wonder Fork and have him face his Trial."

"No kidding. If it weren't for the fact that **we're** the ones carrying the Soul Stone box, Caleb would probably have handed that over to him too, just to kiss up even more!" Sam declared bitingly, arms folding over her chest. Genis rolled his eyes and looked back up at Regal, a focused look on his face as he silently repeated her words through their connection. Regal raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"So you possess the Soul Stone? It's good that you received it from Caleb before he entered this level." he agreed, "There's little doubt that he would do just that, Miss Manson. The amount of trust and loyalty and love that Caleb has for Adam is, without mincing words, frighteningly vast. There is **nothing** he wouldn't do for him." Danny lifted his head, looking at Regal with a curious expression while Sam prodded Genis into correcting the man's use of her name. What was with that extra bit of stress? Nothing he wouldn't do? Did that **really** mean there was no limit to the kinds of things Caleb would do for Wren?

"Okay, first thing's first. How do we get back on the same wavelength as Caleb?" Jazz pointed out firmly, "Without all of us there, -or at the very least, Danny- there's no way he's going to listen to reasons for why he shouldn't trust this fake Adam. Not when he knows that he'll never meet him in death." Genis relayed the message and Regal winced.

"This is true, Jazz. They are forbidden to meet in death, but not in life." he sighed, apparently deciding to err on the side of caution and refer to everyone by their preferred names, "Caleb had found that loophole a few thousand years after the sealing spell was first placed on him." He paused, a puzzled look on his face as his eyes went distant, then he shook his head and glanced aside at the sleeping redhead. "Hm. Having a living Adam suddenly within his grasp is far too tempting a prize to just surrender because of the words of a few other friends. Especially if some of them had hurt him in the past." Regal took a deep breath, then went on. "Something in this ship must be creating the force that is keeping you all out of phase. If it is found and destroyed, you should be restored to the proper frame of existence."

The teens gave him a collective flat glare, arms folding over their chests at his words. That seemed fairly useless. How were they supposed to find something that was causing this mess when they had no idea what that **thing** looked like? Or where to start? The ship was big, they were going to meet up with some other ships, and then who knew what would happen once they met up with the fake crazy Martel?

"Ah, wait! What about the engineering deck?" Valerie blurted out, snapping her fingers, "Didn't it have a password on it so the elevator wouldn't go there unless it was unlocked? I bet whatever's making us out of phase is in the engineering deck!" Sam blinked, nodding slowly as she searched her own memory of that.

"Yeah... yeah, that's right! I remember now, too!" she exclaimed and turned to Danny, "The elevator won't be able to take us there, but you probably could get there with your ghost powers! Just turn intangible and fly straight down to Engineering!" The halfa lit up and dove through the floor, eager to see if he could find the thing for his friends.

"In the meantime, we should wake Caleb up and..." Valerie began and jumped when the door to room slid open again with a hiss, revealing the Wonder Chef standing there with a small smile on his face and the Wonder Fork in his hands.

"_Buon giorno_, Regal Bryant. I wasn't expecting _you_ on my ship." the blonde purred as he walked in, the teens scattering as they glared at him, even though they knew he'd just pass through them like everything and everyone else had done. Regal narrowed his gaze at the smaller chef, positioning himself to keep between Adam and Caleb. The blonde just smiled wider, visible blue eye shining laughingly. "Now, now. I'm going to have to report you for assaulting my First Mate and confine you to the brig. Maybe a nice place in solitary confinement, just to be sure you understand that you're not allowed to come near **my** dear friend." Regal just glared back at him, uncertain of what to do.

Danny flew back up through the floor to rejoin his friends, panting as though worn out and unaware that the Wonder Chef had entered the scene.

"Sorry, guys! I couldn't get through to that deck; something kept bouncing me off like some kind of wall or shield!" he reported in frustration, "Like an anti-ghost shield, but there's no way Nebilim could make a working one in here! He doesn't understand ectotechnology! Not without a fake Tucker to make it all like last time!" He blinked as he finally caught on that his friends were glaring past him, the room deadly quiet. He turned, dreading what he might see.

There was the Wonder Chef, the fake Wren himself, confronting Regal before he had the chance to explain anything to Caleb. The android was still asleep on the bed, shifting in place only a little since being put there. Danny's eyes widened, then narrowed as he glared at the blonde himself.

_'This is bad! If he wakes Caleb up, he can spin some story about Regal being a bad guy and Caleb will buy the whole thing without thinking about it! There **is** such a thing as being **too** trusting!'_ he thought furiously to himself.

Wren spun the fork in one hand and thrust it up to hover just above Regal's throat, his little smile still in place. Regal didn't flinch, just stood there and glared down at the chef with his fists held still at his sides. The teens gasped in shock and alarm.

"Why isn't Regal fighting back?" Valerie demanded harshly, "He knows that's a fake! He's got more power in one pinky than that guy does! Look at him! Stupid shrimpy blonde!"

"Good boy, Regal. Can't fight against anything that could be part of Caleb's Trial." the fake Wren told him with a chuckle, "After all, they can't be weakened while they're still in pre-form. And since he's not going to bother with looking for the symbol, he never will activate it. Why should he?" He raised a hand and lifted the fringe of blonde hair that covered his left eye, revealing a thin, faded scar on his eyebrow that cut it nearly in half, and smiled at Regal's startled look. "I'm the adorable little Wonder Chef he remembers so well, the same one he'd gladly kill others and himself for without a second thought." he murmured and bared his teeth in a wide and wicked smile, eyes narrowing in a sadistic expression, "I can convince him to be Lord Nebilim's puppet so easily; he'll do _anything_ I tell him to! Ha ha ha ha!"

"That's the scar that Adam received when Kvar hit him!" Regal blurted out, shocked, "Caleb told us about that when he found it on him; Kvar's ring cut him there and that's why he wears his hair to the side like that! To hide it, because it was his meeting with Kvar that made Adam decide to become the Wonder Chef!" He trembled in barely contained anger, "You monster... how could you know even **that** tiny detail about Adam?"

"It was far too easy; I just had to tap into Caleb's memories to pull a complete history so my illusion would be perfect. He's practically my slave now." Wren returned with a contemptuous smirk, letting his hair fall back into place, "Once Lord Nebilim has his vessel and emerges into the land of the living, **I** will be at his side, commanding Caleb to lead the forces that will destroy the world that he once vowed to protect!"

"You fink! Just you wait till we're back in synch; I'll show Caleb you're a liar and a fake and Nebilim won't have a chance to get me!" Danny yelled furiously, eyes a vivid yellow-green and hands tightening into fists so tight it hurt, "_Gah!_ If we were in synch right now, I'd match that stupid scar on your face!"

Tucker's eyebrows shot up upon hearing the Wonder Chef's words and realization lit up on his face. He pulled out his laptop again, bringing up the multiple programs that helped him keep track of Caleb's systems. He glanced at one, puzzled by the Special Arte gauge that had risen substantially since he last saw it, then reviewed the images that he'd managed to capture earlier.

"That's it! That's why Caleb was dreaming after he stepped on the teleporter pad!" he told his friends. Danny glanced at him in surprise, then dropped to his side, studying the screen for himself as Sam and Jazz both gave him collective looks of confusion that quickly became understanding.

"Of course! He wasn't dreaming; it was Nebilim ransacking his memories to build a perfect copy of Adam to distract Caleb!" the Goth exclaimed in horror, "That's just **wrong**! And cruel!"

"And the perfect way to get rid of his most dangerous opponent!" Jazz agreed, hands flying up to her cheeks, "Get him to switch sides willingly!"

"Good morning, Caleb!" the Wonder Chef called out with a sickeningly sweet smile and the redhead's eyes flew open in response.

"Welcome. Please state your business." Caleb returned and gasped, sitting up in alarm as he looked around himself and laid eyes on the blonde holding his fork up to Regal's neck. "Wren! Regal! Wh-what's going on?" he demanded shakily, "I was in the weapons storage room, and then I sensed Regal behind me, and then everything went black!"

"This is a spy, an agent of Martel sent in to try to split us apart." the Wonder Chef told him before Regal could even open his mouth. He turned a wide blue eye on the android, radiating innocence and pleading, "He was about to open your Tri-Crystal System! I'm going to charge him for a salt!" Caleb glared at the blonde and he just blinked. "What?"

"I should charge **you** with assault, using those food puns like it's normal language." the redhead retorted and then directed a more scathing expression at Regal, "But you're right. I blacked out when Regal grabbed me, and he was one of those who agreed with Martel that we should be separated."

"_No!_ Caleb, don't listen to him!" Danny cried, shooting up to his feet and staring at the redhead in horror, "He's a fake! A **fake**!"

"I was thinking of putting him in the brig. Maybe isolation. What do you think, Caleb?" Wren questioned as the android moved to get off the bed and stand by his side, the blonde giving Regal a victorious little smirk.

"Good idea, Wren. We're not being taken apart. Not again." Caleb growled, glaring up at the taller man, "I can't get in contact with Martel anymore, but I bet you can, Regal. Tell her to forget it. I'm not being put under that spell again. Not when what I want is right here in this room."

Valerie twitched and carefully began backing away, slowly, step by step, keeping her eyes on everyone to be sure no one was watching her. The group was still riveted on the confrontation between Caleb, Wren and Regal, so no one noticed her slip out of the room as she activated her Red Huntress gear again.

"Caleb, I was sent by Martel to help you see the truth of this level." Regal finally told the redhead, trying to get through to him, "You can't trust anything you see here, but you **can** trust me. Martel only wants you to be safe..."

"No!" the android snapped, shaking his head as he stepped behind the Wonder Chef and placed his hands on the blonde's shoulders, "I have Wren, I don't **need** anyone else! As long as I have Wren, the rest of you don't matter anymore! You know how much he means to me; you should have thought of that before rejecting me!"

Danny felt his blood run cold at that, sinking back down to sit on the floor again as the world around him seemed to dim and fade. Only Caleb's voice seemed to cut through in sharp clarity. _'The rest of you don't matter anymore!'_ It repeated in his head, swallowing his senses. He didn't know what everyone around him was doing, were saying. He just felt so very cold and lost.

Something happened outside of the realm of his awareness. Caleb jerked in place and seemed to double over in pain. Wren turned in place, startled, hand reaching back to try to hold the redhead up. That left him open, and Regal took the chance to toss aside the teaspoon that had been at his waist, shove the blonde aside and pick Caleb back up, slinging him over one shoulder as he ran for the door.

There was a shout and the Wonder Chef went chasing after them, pulling out a gold disk and barking orders into it, calling for reinforcements. It took a few shakes and a slap across the face from Sam before Danny snapped back to alertness. He blinked rapidly, then looked up at her, the Goth and his sister kneeling before him with worried expressions on their faces. Genis joined them and put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's not what you think." the half-elf told him quietly, "He... he doesn't know you're here. He wouldn't have said that if he knew. Lloyd said..." He took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. "Lloyd said that you talk and act a lot like Adam did. Adam agrees with him." Genis told him carefully, "You're the only anchor Caleb's got, a **real** anchor. Someone to remind him why he's protecting this world. This fake Adam is trying to be his new anchor by pretending to be his first one. He's making Caleb remember old wounds on purpose, trying to turn him against us all."

"He said you rejected him. What did he mean by that?" Jazz asked of the half-elf. Genis winced and looked away.

"We don't like thinking about that. By the time we finally understood what Caleb had been trying to tell us, it was too late to fix the damage. Lloyd was able to get through to him, but then Caleb and Lloyd had a lot in common. More than anyone realized." the boy muttered, "So it was easier for Caleb to forgive Lloyd; I don't think he'll do the same for the rest of the Heroes of Regeneration right away."

"That didn't answer the question." Sam muttered, glaring at him before turning her attention back to Danny, "Are you okay? You know he didn't mean that, right? If Caleb could see you, he'd drop that fake Wonder Chef like a hot potato. **You're** his friend now!"

The halfa blinked again, slowly, then pulled himself out of his depressed funk as best he could. "Yeah... yeah, you're right." he muttered, getting to his feet and shaking his head, "He's just being tricked; he doesn't realize what he's saying because he thinks Wren's real." Danny looked around quickly, taking stock of the situation. Tucker and Valerie were gone, so were the Wonder Chef, Regal and Caleb, and he had no clue where they had gone or what happened.

"Tucker went chasing after the fake Adam, who tore after Regal because he kidnapped Caleb... again." Jazz told him, rolling her eyes, "I think Valerie went after him too, but I don't see the point in chasing them when we're out of phase and can't even touch those three."

"Yeah, we should wait here for them to come back. We still have to figure out how to get into Engineering and disable the thing keeping us out of synch with Caleb." Sam agreed, moving to take Tucker's place at the laptop. Both Genis and Danny stared at the two girls in disbelief. They weren't worried about what was happening?

And what was with Sam and that 'hot potato' pun?

* * *

_"Caleb! We're all in that room with you! What the hell are you talking about?"_

Valerie's words had been like a jolt of electric current through his systems, snapping Caleb out of the tunnel vision Regal and Wren's words had pulled him into. They were in his quarters? In his room? Then that meant...

Danny Fenton was here; his Raven had heard what he said!

_'As long as I have Wren, the rest of you don't matter anymore!'_ He replayed his words in his mind, shock on his face as he realized what he'd just done. No... **no**! Raven was his friend, too! He couldn't just abandon the ghost boy either! He mentally recoiled from his claim to the Wonder Chef in horror, yet he couldn't reject Wren, not after everything he'd been through.

And the agonizing pain of dividing his loyalty streaked through him again, bringing him down before he could bring up his personal masks. There was a scuffle, Caleb felt a burst of alarm at seeing Wren be shoved backwards onto his bed, and then he was scooped up and slung over Regal's shoulder, helpless to do anything but try to bury his pain and call out to Valerie.

_"I'm sorry! I didn't know... I didn't know you were there! I didn't mean to say that!"_ he blurted out to the huntress, unable to hide the pain from his voice. He clenched his teeth, forcing it down and beginning to struggle against Regal's grip. "Let go of me! Wren! Help!" he yelled, pushing against the duke's back in an effort to throw him off balance.

_"You sound like you got electrocuted again. Are you all right? Wait, never mind. Tell me later. Caleb, you can't trust Adam! That guy's a fake!"_ Valerie hissed, keeping her voice low. She must be near someone and was trying to keep from being heard.

Then what she said hit him like a second blow. Wren was a fake? No, that **couldn't** be true! He had the mana signature, the memories, his mannerisms; this **was** Wren! No one could fake that sweet smile only Wren could make when he was content to sit next to Caleb doing nothing but enjoying his presence. That aura of joy and cheerfulness that could only belong to the Wonder Chef; it was _real_!

Anger surged through him that Valerie was trying to convince him otherwise. _"How **dare** you? I've known Wren longer than I know any of you! I have perfect records of his mana signature and biological data; this is my best friend, the one I promised to wait for until he came back!"_ he shot back in a fury, _"Don't you **dare** try to take him from me, too!"_

_"That's the thing, Caleb! God, listen to **reason**, you stupid robot! He's a perfect fake because Nebilim copied everything you know about Adam and created him based on **your **memories!"_ Valerie hissed in return.

Regal was racing through the halls at random, trying to shake the blonde chasing him and evade the various cooks and chefs now running out of their rooms to help halt him. Caleb held his head in his hands, eyes shut as he refused to pay any more attention to the huntress. That couldn't be right! That was all a lie! Nebilim might be able to fake mannerisms and knowledge, but he couldn't fake Wren's mana, that unique signature that was his alone. It **had** to be him! It had to! He was back and he somehow was trapped in this Book and lost his sense of reality, but now he'd recover it once Caleb dealt with the level's traps and then he'd join the party and...

"Caleb, please, listen! Martel can't reach you because of what Nebilim is doing for your Trial." Regal told him as he ran down another hallway. The thundering of many cooks on his trail spurred him onward, so he couldn't stop, couldn't rest. "You must understand; the Adam that you see here isn't really him!" he urged, "You must find the Trial symbol and activate it. It's the only way to defeat your Trial and free your companions from this trap!"

_"Stop lying to me!"_ Caleb screamed and he didn't care whether he was broadcasting his words or yelling them on an audible frequency. He threw out a hand, tracing a magic symbol into the air with one finger rapidly as a circle of light bloomed at Regal's feet, moving with him as the duke ran. Regal looked down in surprise and alarm, gray eyes widening. _"Engulf this pathetic soul..."_ Caleb growled, eyes glowing brilliantly as he slammed his palm against the drawn sigil in the air, _"Ground Dasher!"_

The floor beneath Regal ruptured into multiple cracks of glowing light, the ship quaking violently as mana surged up and slammed into the duke, forcing him to falter and collapse under the assault. Caleb tumbled away from him, rolling forward and spinning back up to his feet and taking up a defensive stance, fingers pointed at Regal as he watched the spell's effects finish and fade. Regal grunted softly in pain, struggling to get to one knee as he looked up at the redhead. The android only glared back, no trace of kindness in his expression. If Regal tried anything, there was no doubt that Caleb would cast another spell.

Wren arrived after a moment, panting softly as he stood at Caleb's side and pointed the Wonder Fork at the downed duke, several of the Wonder Cooks catching up and surrounding Regal as best they could in the hallway. Regal glared at the blonde, rubbing the back of his hand across his cheek and mouth.

_"Oh my god, Caleb... you **attacked** Regal? But... he was one of the Heroes of Union! One of your friends!"_ Valerie blurted out in shock.

_"No, he's **not**."_ Caleb returned in her frequency, eyes narrowing as the cooks moved to handcuff Regal and lead him away. He reached out an arm and draped it across Wren's shoulders as if they'd just finished a pleasant day of fishing or some other friendship-bonding experience. _"Anyone who tries to take Wren from me will face the avenging angel. You humans learned this once before; I **won't** hesitate to do it again."_

And Caleb walked away with a grinning Wren at his side, leaving behind a very stunned Tucker and Valerie to watch him leave, expressions of horror and disbelief on their faces.


	38. Chapter 38

A/N: Unbeta'd. Anyone interested in seeing what Caleb looks like, the link is at the top of my profile.

* * *

38

"Oh my god, we're all gonna die." Sam sighed harshly, pacing back and forth in Caleb's room. Tucker and Valerie had returned to report everything that had happened. The rest of the group just gaped at them upon hearing that Caleb had taken out Regal and left him to be captured by the Wonder Cooks. Tucker took back his laptop, sitting against a wall and frowning at the data on the screen. Valerie took to sitting against another wall, looking equal parts furious and distressed. Jazz just looked baffled, rubbing the back of her neck as she turned the information over in her head.

"This doesn't make sense. He was always saying not to trust anything we saw in the levels. He even disregarded his emotions when combating Caleb 2.0 and Zelos dressed in his clothes, both of whom were like virtual twins of himself." she muttered, "But the moment he lays eyes on Adam, he makes himself _completely_ vulnerable to him and lashes out against one of his friends in order to get back to his side. Like he's completely taken by the illusion... and he didn't even **try** to resist!"

Danny nodded slowly in agreement from where he leaned against a wall. He turned his gaze to the redhead they were discussing. Caleb had returned shortly after Tucker and Valerie, and merely sat in bed, knees drawn up to his chin and arms wrapped around them as he looked neutral again, feelings shielded behind his mask. Valerie glared at him, then gave Danny a considering look that confused the halfa, before finally going back to looking distressed, her arms folded over her chest and hands clutching her shirt sleeves tightly.

"Like Regal said, Caleb would do _anything_ for Adam." Genis sighed, hands lifting in a shrug as he shook his head, "That kind of bond to someone... it's really dangerous to have exist. Not just for the two of them, but for everyone around them!"

The teens looked to him in surprise, then with grim nods as they agreed with him. Danny just closed his eyes, growling softly. That was the last straw.

_'I'm tired of this. I'm tired of just suspecting and doubting and having Nebilim act like he knows **everything** about Caleb! I want answers, and I'm getting them. Right now!'_ he decided furiously and opened his eyes to glare at Genis. "It's dangerous because you know what happened the last time a bond like that existed and was cut because of someone dying." he said in a dark tone. Genis flinched, shuddering, and the group turned their gazes up at the halfa in confusion. "This isn't the first time Caleb bonded to someone so strongly, he went to the extremes to bring them back from death. And I'm right, aren't I?"

"Danny, wait, you don't know what you're saying!" Genis cried in alarm, face pale and pale gray eyes wide and watering. The faintest sheen of panic sweat glistened on his forehead and the boy pushed himself from seating to standing. "I know it looks bad now, but you guys still need to trust him in order to get out of this Book! Don't destroy that!"

"He said that if anyone took Adam from him, he'd unleash the avenging angel on them." Valerie suddenly remarked in a quiet tone, "He said, 'You humans have learned this once before; I won't hesitate to do it again'. Hearing that sent shivers down my back. I really believed he would kill anyone that tried to separate him from the Wonder Chef." Tucker gave her a puzzled look. He didn't recall hearing anything like that in the time he was present with Caleb.

Genis groaned softly, lifting his hands to hide his face. "That was something else. It was bad, but... Goddess, no, I don't want to think about that day. It was too horrible." he muttered and looked up at Danny, "Please, just forget what you're thinking! Yes, that bond is dangerous if we try to force Caleb away from the fake Adam, but if we can get back in phase and prove he's fake, then Caleb will cut the bond on his own and he'll be safe again!"

Sam lifted her hands, a suspicious glare on her face as she looked between Danny and Genis. "Hey, wait, hold up! I wanna know what Danny's getting at!" she declared and turned to the halfa, "What do you mean by what you said? What happened the first time Caleb bonded to a person? Something happen to Adam back in Symphonian days?" Danny shook his head, looking over at the blank-looking android.

"Way earlier than that. Things are making sense now, all the questions I kept asking myself the more I learned about him; I finally get it, and I wish so bad that I'm wrong." he murmured, hands clenching into fists as he turned back to Genis, "But I'm not, am I, Genis? You know what I mean, and don't lie to me about it."

The half-elf stood there, trembling, eyes watering. He sniffled a few times, rubbed the tears from his eyes with one hand... and finally nodded, slow and regretful but a nod nonetheless. Danny felt a blow to his heart that rivaled the one he got when he saw that 'Gregor' poser kiss Sam outside the mall back home. It **was** true.

Suddenly, he wished desperately that he was back in the Welgaia level, when he'd just realized why he hated Caleb's perfect neutrality. Back when he extended friendship to the android wholeheartedly, with the best of intentions, and felt warm and honored to have Caleb latch onto the lifeline he offered and create an anchor out of him. Because now... now he felt like he'd just created a monster out of an angel. No... it was worse.

He resurrected a monstrous angel.

"What the **hell** are you talking about?" Sam demanded to know, eyes darting back and forth between him and Genis. Jazz, Tucker and Valerie seemed to agree with her, frowning deeper the longer they went without an answer.

"A long time ago, Caleb had a different identity, a different body, a different name. But he had a strong bond with someone in his party, a very powerful bond. So strong, he would do _anything_ for them." Danny began, licking his lips because his mouth and throat felt dry and if his lips went dry, they'd just cement together to trap his words. "One day, that someone was murdered right in front of him, and he decided he would bring them back to life. It would take a long time, but he could be patient. Because, you see, he split the world in two, created a new religion, and made these terrible little rocks that turned people into vessels."

"Oh. My. God." Jazz gasped in horror, one hand flying up to her mouth as her eyes grew huge, the other teens paling as it began dawning on them what Danny was talking about.

"Fallen Angel, Revision M. It makes sense now, doesn't it? What the 'M' stands for..." Danny went on in a hollow tone, "Why he fought against the Angels of Vinhelm when they tried to use him in their plans, why Nebilim recognized his soul, why he's allergic to Dark mana, why he doesn't want to be near Cruxis Crystals, why Martel and Caleb were scared enough to put him under the spell of perfect neutrality so he would never bond to anyone ever again..."

"I'm sorry, Caleb. If only we hadn't turned away from you, maybe we could have... maybe we could have...!" Genis sobbed softly, lifting an arm to hide his eyes as tears streamed down his face.

"It **can't** be!" Sam breathed, horrified as she jumped to her feet and spun around to look at the redhead. Caleb had straightened and reached for his pack, digging out his journal and a pen to write whatever he tended to write about during the downtime. She shook her head, mouth still open in disbelief.

"It is, Sam." Danny remarked grimly, watching the angelic android scribble away, pausing to chew on the end of his pen thoughtfully every so often, "Caleb used to be Mithos Yggdrasill, the guy Lloyd and his friends fought to save Symphonia."

* * *

It was a long time before anyone spoke again, the teens sitting in a huddle on the floor in front of the bed. Caleb sat in lotus position on the bed itself, eyes closed and hands clasped together before his mouth as though in prayer. After the revelation that the android, or at least his soul, was really Mithos, the leader of Cruxis that caused four thousand years of suffering for two worlds, no one wanted to say anything. Caught up in the mix of emotions ranging from terror, anger, disbelief, despair, and even grief, the heroes of Amity Park just huddled together and drew comfort from each other. They were people who lived in the here and now, who didn't have the weights of such a far-reaching past resting on their shoulders.

"When I said Caleb must be part of some massive ancient conspiracy, I was sort of _kidding_." Sam whispered, sitting as close to Danny as she could without making either of them uncomfortable with the proximity, "This... this is beyond anything I could have imagined. This is like... hardcore."

Even though they hadn't truly known each other before passing their Trials together, there had always been 'norms' for the teens, things that they just kind of 'knew' about one another simply from being in the same place for so long. Danny Phantom was always showing up out of the blue to fight ghosts and cause trouble, at least in Valerie's mind; for Team Phantom, Danny was always going to find a way to try to direct danger towards himself to protect his family and friends, no matter how freaked out he might be inside. Jazz was always the smart and dependable one, the meddler who means well. Sam was the creepy Goth girl who was too vocal to really act like the Goth crowd, always standing up for veggies and animals and nature. Tucker was always going to be buried in tech and gadgets, the ultimate ThinkGeek shopper. If it had a chip, he adored it. And Valerie... she was always going to be tough. She was known for being stubborn and bullheaded, and though it never really helped her when it came to what was truly going on around her, it got her surviving a low-income lifestyle without succumbing to depression.

"But... Caleb **hates** Mithos." Tucker protested weakly, looking confused and almost dazed, "He's _terrified_ of Mithos. Danny said that Caleb would rather be **dead** than admit that he's anything _like_ Mithos. How... how can he **be** Mithos?"

After the Trials, the teens bonded together more closely, became more aware of each other's deepest, darkest secrets that followed in the vein of the surface 'facts' they already knew. It confirmed what they had sort of known all along, and it brought them all closer. Jazz yearned for normalcy and turned to psychology to make up for being part of a white lie for a delusional woman. Sam shouted and argued to cover the whispers of fear and doubt in her heart. Tucker yearned for the power technology could give him when coupled with his knowledge. Danny feared himself because of his power and was forever questioning his own motives for doing anything, afraid of corruption of his own heart. Valerie saw how consumed by hate and rage she was deep inside, to the point where if she continued she wouldn't care who stood before her, she would treat everyone who didn't conform to her wishes as an enemy to be destroyed.

"His soul is supposed to be blank. A soul that goes to a body that isn't the original will have its memories and influence wiped out, but when we learned Caleb got Mithos's soul, everyone panicked, including Caleb." Genis murmured, "Mithos was so strong, a powerful and cruel influence. We thought he would take over Caleb and we would have to fight him again to save the world, but he kept saying over and over that he wasn't Mithos. He never even knew whose soul he had until the Angels of Vinhelm took a mana sample from him and matched it to their record of Mithos. Martel told the rest of us when he came back from Derris-Kharlan, and everything changed after that."

But Caleb was different. He hid behind perfect neutrality so nothing about him was known. Everything he did or said was brought under question, and there was nothing the teens could use as a reference for who and what he was really like. There was no set of 'facts' about him. And the more they managed to learn about him on their own, the scarier it was to think about their lives being in Caleb's hands.

"Why? What changed?" Danny muttered, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to sort everything out in his head, "Genis... Caleb said that Lloyd and Wren both knew that he wasn't like Mithos. Lloyd said he didn't realize it until after he died, but Wren knew it all along. How?" He lifted his head, looking at the half-elf. "I want to talk to Wren; let me ask him for his side of all this. Because right now we can't put our faith in Caleb until we know for sure who he is inside." Danny told the boy, a grim expression on his face, "We need to hear from someone who _really_ knew him, and that's the Wonder Chef."

Genis blinked, eyes wide, then shook his head quickly. "You can talk to him through me, but not directly. Martel said..." he began and shrank back in surprise when the halfa's eyes turned a vivid yellow-green, a furious look on his face.

"I don't **care** what Martel said! I want to talk to him myself! I'm not Caleb; you don't have a reason to block him from me!" Danny snapped, "We're out of phase and Caleb has **no** idea where we are; he can't even pick up our mana on his sensors! If Martel lets Wren come onto this level while in phase with us, Caleb will _never_ know!" The half-elf opened his mouth to protest, paused, then his eyes went distant as he listened to something else, another voice.

As they waited for Genis to come back to them, Sam sighed and ran a hand through her hair, looking fairly downcast. "I wanted to know what happened to Mithos's soul after Lloyd destroyed his Crystal. I wanted to make sure that he could never come back to do to Earth what he did to Sylvarant and Tethe'alla." she mumbled and looked over at the redhead on the bed. Caleb had apparently finished his prayer and looked around himself in concern. He seemed to be trying to search for something, head tilting as though listening for something only he could hear, and sighing despondently when it appeared that he wasn't picking anything up. "I would never have realized that he was right here all along, that he was living in the world Lloyd and his friends created... and _protecting_ it." Sam finally whispered, "Didn't Mithos say that he would do the whole Cruxis thing over again if he had the chance? Here it is, billions of years' worth of chances; why didn't he take it and make a Chosen to take Martel's soul?"

"He didn't really sound like Mithos." Valerie muttered, "Not until he gets mad, like _really_ mad. Then I can see him being that nutcase angel in the white spandex."

"Owww." Genis groaned, his hands going over his ears under the massive mop of white hair, "I don't care what Caleb said about him, Adam's got a mouth when he gets riled up." Danny raised an eyebrow at him, mouth twitching into a smirk at his words. "Okay, he and Martel duked it out in a massive argument that I was unfortunate enough to be forced to listen in on... and trust me when I say not to tick him off. Caleb can be scary when he's mad, but it's nothing compared to Adam because he doesn't even **look** that dangerous!" the half-elf told the group, getting to his feet. One hand rested on his waist as he rubbed at an ear with the other, thinking over his next few words. "Right, well, they argued over it and Martel's laying out some conditions for letting Adam out of her protections to meet you." he went on and looked up at Danny seriously.

"First, she's going to call Regal back to her. Adam will be taking his place in order to keep Nebilim from getting another advantage. Second, he'll be in phase with us, but not with Caleb. Once we destroy the thing keeping us out of phase, he'll be instantly recalled to Martel. Adam and Caleb can never meet in death, and that rule stands even here in the Book." Genis pointed out, his eyes meeting Danny's in a steady gaze, making sure the teen knew how serious this was, "Third, you can't tell Caleb you had contact with Adam. He can't ever know how close he was to the Wonder Chef's soul; it'll destroy Martel's wish for him. He's not ready for her plans."

"You mean, she's testing Caleb to see when he'll be ready to have Adam come back to him for real?" Jazz questioned the boy. Genis waved at her to dismiss the question.

"That's part of the fourth condition. Just wait." he told her quickly and went back to watching Danny, "Fourth, she has a favor she wants to ask of you after the Trial is over. She'll put Caleb to sleep so that he won't interfere." He shrugged, hands up and head shaking, "I don't know what that's all about, but there you have it. If you agree to all that, she'll let Adam come out."

Caleb seemed to grow restless and slid off the bed, picking up the teaspoon and strapping it to his belt. He looked around the room once more, a worried expression on his face, then turned away and headed out of his quarters. No one watched him go, no one said anything about him leaving.

"All right." Danny agreed. _'Wonder what Martel wants to ask me... it's gotta be something about Caleb. Maybe she thinks she can convince me to help her get Caleb to accept being sealed again?'_ he thought to himself and looked faintly guilty, _'At this point, I think I might actually take her up on that. But I **can't** believe that Caleb really is like Mithos. He's just so different from what we read in the books!'_ Although considering that Caleb was the one who wrote those books, that really wasn't much help either. "Okay, I'll agree to those conditions." he repeated more clearly, "Will Regal come back after Wren leaves when we get back in synch with Caleb?"

"Probably not. You guys have to get rid of that ghost lady too. If she's still around when we get back in synch, she might use her powers on Caleb and really cause trouble for us all!" Genis replied and Valerie stood up, once again the determined huntress.

"Leave her to me. You guys work on convincing Caleb that the Wonder Chef here is a fake." she declared and Jazz stood with her.

"I can help with that. She can't grant wishes if she's being peeled of her powers!" the carrot-top chimed in with a grin, whipping out the Fenton Peeler from her purse.

"The rest of us will deal with Caleb's buddy issues." Sam agreed and Genis sighed.

"I hope you guys know what you're gonna be up against. Okay, Martel!" he called out, jumping and thrusting a fist into the air, "Let's do it!"

A blast sounded directly behind the group, sending them hurrying to one side of the room to take up defensive positions, Danny at the lead. White smoke billowed around them, like fog, and Genis waved a hand in front of his face with his eyes half-lidded in exasperation. As it began to fade and drift apart, a new figure stood before them in its midst. Danny blinked and took a step forward cautiously, unsure if this was really the Wonder Chef or not.

The young man before him was a little taller than the Adam that was running around on the ship but wore the exact same clothes, green shirt with white sleeves and round brass buttons, green pants, brown leather belt and shoes with brass buckles. A red cape draped around his neck and shoulders, barely brushing the floor, and a green and gold-trimmed white chef's hat rested on his head. He was blonde, short-haired, with the fringe swept over his left eye, his right deep blue and twinkling mischievously. His face wasn't as youthful as the fake Adam's, but he still looked very young, almost elf-like, and he broke into a wide smile once he laid eyes on Danny.

Danny just stared in shock as the blonde chef danced lightly from foot to foot for a moment and held out his arms in a showman style, beaming.

"I am the mysterious gourmet, the Wonder Chef!" he declared and laughed wistfully, bringing his arms down to rest at his hips, "Well, the last Symphonian Wonder Chef, to be honest. I retired after the war destroyed my organization."

"**You're** Adam Voraci?" Sam exclaimed in disbelief, "You don't even look that much older than the fake one!" The blonde sighed and it was startling to feel the bright and weirdly cheerful vibe just evaporate like it had never been there. He shifted his weight, folding his arms over his chest, and leveled a glare at Sam that she actually flinched away from.

"That's because I never got any older than this, thanks **so** much for bringing it to attention." the chef grumbled, "This is how I looked in my last year of life. My name is Adam Voraci, though I prefer to be called Wren. And yeah, Voraci isn't my real last name if you go by my bloodline." Danny opened his mouth and Wren threw a hand up to halt him. "Sorry, but I can't tell you what it really is. I've been watching what's going on, and if that fake me is really using knowledge about me to fool Caleb, then I can't risk letting my name be used like that." he added sharply, "Caleb knows that Voraci isn't my true name, but he doesn't remember what it _actually_ is. He purged his memory of it to protect me, same as he did in Hima when he erased two hours' worth of memory."

"What? But... he said that **you** were the one who deleted that information!" Danny blurted out in shock and confusion, "And then you did something to him so that he couldn't focus on figuring out what was deleted! Is that Ultimate Recipe thing _really_ that important?" Wren lifted an eyebrow at him, looking equally confused.

"I didn't do that. _Caleb_ erased that memory, not me. My skills in magitechnology weren't good enough at the time to work with his artificial brain. Not until I taught him my lullaby, and that was when I installed those fail-safes to protect **him**." he returned in a baffled tone before taking on a serious look, "You're not even supposed to **know** about the Ultimate Recipe, but yes. It's **that** important. Other than a true Wonder Chef successor, Caleb's the only person I trust to protect it, but it's vital that he doesn't know what it is. ...Not exactly." He shook his head. "Never mind, there's nothing he can do to reach it and you guys don't have a clue how to either. Now, you guys said you're in a pickle. What's the problem?"

And once more Team Phantom began explaining everything that had happened, the blond chef listening with an oddly intense expression.

* * *

He hadn't gotten any replies to his calls since he got back to his room. Caleb felt almost suffocated by the lack of contact. He wasn't entirely sure what had happened, only that he had gotten angry that everyone kept saying Wren was fake and then... black. Like something else had taken over. He snapped out of it as he was walking back to his quarters with Wren at his side, the little blonde chatting away eagerly about their arrival at the rendezvous point with Eve and DuGorge the next day. The android gave him a weak smile, excused himself and went back to his room.

He spent a couple of hours in there, calling out to Valerie and trying to look like he was doing something else. But the longer he went without an answer, the more despair began to pile up on him. Caleb called out pleas for forgiveness, asking to know what happened, what he did, anything to give him some information. He ran a check on his memories and systems. The time codes were right, but his memory during that time was pure black, no sound, no sensations, no incoming data, no visuals; just pure darkness.

_'I must have really messed up. What did I do? Why isn't she talking to me? We were supposed to be a party, and she my link to Raven.'_ He didn't understand what was going on, and the pain of being divided between Wren and Raven was taking a toll on him. Whatever he did, it must have been enough to drive a wedge between him and the rest of the group. Was this it then? Had he taken so long to decide who to follow that they made the choice for him?

He slid off the bed and tied on the steel teaspoon, making his way out. Just before leaving, he paused and looked back at the apparently empty bedroom, worried for the teens he had drawn into the Book with him. Maybe this had been a mistake. He shouldn't have tried to reach out to anyone else, not while he still had his priority of waiting for Wren to come back to life, whether it be naturally or by his own methods of inducing resurrection.

_"Valerie, if you can hear this, I'm leaving the party. I'll form a new one with Wren, and we'll find the Trial hidden here. We'll defeat it and I'll use the Pin to get you out of here. Wren and I will finish off Nebilim ourselves, alright?"_ Caleb called out on the Fenton Phones' frequency, _"Amity Park should not be without its Heroes any longer. This will be the best I can do for you, as a Guardian Angel."_

He didn't stick around after speaking out, picking up his satchel and slinging over his shoulder. Then he was gone, making his way to the bridge to find his best friend.

* * *

"Wren!" Caleb exclaimed as soon as he stepped foot onto the bridge. The blonde looked in his direction, surprised, then murmured something to a cook nearby before jogging over to join him.

"What's cooking, Caleb?" the Wonder Chef remarked with a laugh and only laughed harder when the redhead ruffled his hair in retaliation.

"What did I tell you about the food puns?" Caleb growled mockingly before lowering his hand to pat his shoulder, "Hey, have you seen any angelic characters around here? One word, doesn't seem to make sense where it is, doesn't respond to anyone touching it... that sort of thing?"

The blonde blinked up at him as he started straightening his hair with his free hand. "Something in angelic? On a ship that exists, like, a billion years after that language died out?" he returned incredulously, then paused with a flinch when Caleb sharpened his gaze, raising a hand to Wren's face and brushing back the fringe of golden yellow hair, letting him see the scar over his eyebrow.

"Your scar..." he murmured, expression softening slightly. The blonde smiled sheepishly. "This was when... Kvar hit you. When you were seven years old... and he had burned down a whole town to take its people to the human ranch." Caleb went on, eyes distant with memories, "You told me that meeting made you want to be Wonder Chef, so you could take revenge on the Desians and Cruxis and Mithos for what they had done."

"But I didn't!" Wren returned cheerfully, smoothing his hair back into place over his eye, "Lloyd and his friends defeated them, so all I had to do was just keep them fed with my enhanced recipes. It all worked out!" He bounced on his feet, smiling. "Now, you wanted to know about something angelic being here. Well, actually, there **is** something." he chirped brightly, "I saw a mark that might be angelic in Engineering, but I'm not positive. You know I confuse it with elven writing easily."

Caleb nodded slowly, a strange expression on his face that quickly vanished, replaced with a grin. "Well then, let's go! You and me, just like old times!" he declared, lifting his fists in excitement, "Adventuring together and fighting the bad guys! That mark is linked to a Trial monster; I'll activate it and then the two of us can take it out and beat this level!" Wren's eyes widened, mouth opening in a little 'o' of surprise as Caleb grabbed his wrist and led him to the elevator.

"This is all an illusion? _Really?_ I guess that explains how Regal disappeared from his cell. He must have been a fake!" he said to the android as they hurried along, "I can't believe I was fooled for so long! You're right, we should clear the level and get out of here!" He gripped the Wonder Fork tightly and stepped into the elevator with the redhead, putting on a determined look that looked almost silly on his face. "All right! You and me, we can take on anything! I'll follow your lead, okay?" he declared. Caleb bent to study the controls for the various decks, pressing the button for Engineering. When the screen requested a password, he looked to Wren for help.

The blonde peered at the screen as well, pouting in frustration. "I don't know whose half-baked idea it was to put a password there. It's six letters long, that's about all I know of it." he offered lamely and scratched his head, "I can't think of anything that could fit." Caleb pressed his fingertips to the screen, frowning slightly as he tried to think of what the password could be. The last time something needed a password that he had to enter in, it involved the revival of Mithos. The odds were pretty high that the password here would be of the same vein.

"Mithos." he said clearly and with no love at all for the name. The screen glowed a soft green light, displaying a few words, and then the elevator began moving, descending to the engineering deck. Caleb straightened and gave the panel a glare, suspicion creeping over his face before it vanished behind his neutral mask.

"Caleb?" the blonde chef asked and the redhead looked back at him in surprised. Wren smiled warmly up at him. "I'm glad we reunited. Best friends should never be separated." he added and beamed up at him like a little bundle of sunshine. Caleb smiled back, wistful expression on his face.

"Me too. Don't worry. I'll get you out of here too." he returned and went back to watching the screen of the elevator.

Behind him, the Wonder Chef smiled widely, teeth bared almost wickedly as his eyes slide aside to match glances with the grinning Desiree floating beside him. "That's what I'm counting on." he murmured, and blue eyes glowed eerie red in humor.


	39. Chapter 39

A/N: Unbeta'd. Anyone interested in seeing what Caleb looks like, the link is at the top of my profile.

* * *

39

The first words out of Wren's mouth after Danny and his friends finished explaining everything up to their demand for him to join them was, "What the hell have you people done to him?"

He hadn't even yelled or shouted, and Danny wondered if maybe that would have been better. Because this way that he said it, that quiet, cold and hard tone of voice, was just ten times worse. Sam took offense for all of five seconds, just long enough to open her mouth and then close it again, before just standing there beside the halfa, frowning. Jazz had done the same, and Tucker just flinched, reaching for the Phantom Lens in his pocket and rubbing it nervously. Valerie had no such qualms over staying quiet.

"_Us?_ You're saying this is somehow **our** fault?" she demanded, pushing through to stand right in front of the chef, feet planted apart and fists on her hips, "How dare you? **He's** the nutjob angel out to turn the world into soulless zombies!"

"_That_ was Mithos." Wren returned firmly, "Caleb is **not** Mithos. He can tap into a few of his soul's memories, but they're fading or have faded. The person walking this world I love is Caleb, no one else." He folded his arms over his chest. "And I meant the world as a whole; what the hell did you do to him? I leave you my best friend as a gift to carry on my wish for the world to be safe and loved, and you beat him like batter!" he added under his breath.

"That's the problem, Wren!" Danny blurted out, stepping in to pull Valerie back before she could do something drastic, like give the blonde a nasty left hook for his troubles, "We don't _know_ Caleb like you do, so we need you to tell us how you're so sure that he's not Mithos. That his soul hasn't taken him over and was just waiting until someone with a mana signature that matches yours was born so he could jump to action and make them a Chosen for you." The chef lifted an eyebrow at him, then gestured before himself as if waving them all back.

"I'll tell you on the way to the galley. You all need some good meals in you before we get caught up in any battles." he told them and began walking past them and out of the room. The teens looked at each other in confusion, then at Genis. The half-elf sighed and lifted his hands in a shrug, shaking his head.

"I'd do it if I were you. He's the Wonder Chef; _everything_ is done with food." he muttered in exasperation.

"Typical Italian." Sam grumbled as the group hurried to follow the blonde.

So they wound up walking very quickly to the galley after using the elevator, and on the way Wren told them his view of some of the events that Caleb had been a part of that looked bad for the android. The plan to revive Mithos was a fail-safe that the Cruxis leader had created in the event that he was defeated by Lloyd and his party. It was called the Chosen of Mithos, and would allow him to not only be resurrected but be in a body that would grant him far greater power than before, making him a force too strong for even Lloyd's mastery of the Eternal Sword.

"So Mithos had three Chosens running around Sylvarant and Tethe'alla?" Jazz questioned in surprise, "Colette was the Chosen of Sylvarant, Zelos the Chosen of Tethe'alla... who was the third Chosen?" Wren looked back over his shoulder as he led them into the kitchens, a shadow of a grin on his face.

"Oh, that was me." he replied in a too-bright voice, "Chosen of Mithos, with a human appearance despite my half-elf bloodline and apparently a heck of a lot of magic, at your service!" He hopped lightly over to the stove and spun around to take in the startled looks on the group's faces. "That's why Caleb tried to destroy himself as soon as he learned that his soul belonged to Mithos and that I was his Chosen. He didn't want Mithos to ravage the world his friends helped create, and he couldn't bear the idea of anything happening to me."

"You had your own Cruxis Crystal. Caleb said it drove you nearly insane. Something else happened then, too. Kratos was about to talk about it back in my level, but Caleb stopped him from saying what it was." Danny pointed out grimly. Wren nodded as he walked back to the teens and peered closely at each of their faces, lifting Valerie's chin and ignoring her indignant sputter as he studied her features carefully.

"The Wonder War was pretty well underway by then, and I was getting desperate to stop it somehow. I put the Crystal on and used its power to give myself the endurance I needed to move into enemy territory and disable their main form of salt. No, wait, assault. Sorry." he replied quickly, "I did a lot of other things too, not relevant, but the Crystal kept sapping at my personality. It was different from the other Crystals because it wasn't trying to absorb my soul; it was trying to mold it to match Mithos's personality. If I thought and felt like him, then my soul would be merged with his when he took over my body. That would give him access to the power given to me by my bloodline."

He moved on to study Jazz's face, turning her head from one side to another as he peered at her carefully. Sam and Danny looked at one another, shrugging in confusion. What was he doing now?

"Long story short, the Crystal came **really** close to making me like Mithos. I even attacked Caleb in an effort to steal his soul and complete the revival. I cast _Incineration_, he threw in _Forsaken_, and we got caught in a stand-off." Wren went on, "He kept trying to snap me out of it, yelling things at me, but from what Lloyd said it wasn't working. I was just too deep into the darkness. Then Caleb told me that my spell was weakening, that he was winning, and pointed out that it was because my power was tied to my capacity to love. My nature was what made me stronger in cooking and spell-casting than any Wonder Chef before me, except for my ancestor, the First Wonder Chef. Once the Crystal destroyed that, I'd lose all my power and be useless as a vessel. Once I realized my love was stronger than my anger, I snapped back to my senses and the Crystal was destroyed." Danny's mouth thinned at that. He remembered part of Caleb's story involving the blonde's feelings towards the Wonder Organization at the time, and everything attached to it.

"You were ticked off about being Wonder Chef even though you decided to become it after Kvar smacked you." he muttered, "The Crystal was playing up that anger and tried to turn it into hate for all things." He narrowed his gaze when Wren's eyes flicked to him for the briefest of moments, giving him a very slight nod to confirm it. _'So how exactly does 'The Power of Love' make you so freaking strong that Mithos was psycho for making you his Chosen when all **his** power's based on being uber-pissed? That's like pouring water into a cup of oil and expecting them to make chocolate cake or something!'_

"You got freed and the good guys won; how would that mess with Caleb's head?" Sam pointed out and sputtered when the chef moved to grab her chin and tilt her face from side to side in his examination.

"Because I died in that blast." Wren answered bluntly, looking closely at the Goth, "When I regained my senses, I was so overcome with shock at what I had done under the Crystal's influence that I let _Incineration_ backfire on me. It had been largely absorbed by Caleb's spell, but the blast was enough to destroy the Crystal on my neck and the Wonder Fork, the shrapnel of which pierced my heart and lungs." He glanced over at Danny's green face and shrugged. "Raine and Zelos worked together to pull the pieces out and revive me, but Caleb blamed himself for my death. He just went catatonic or something, and that was the opening the Angels of Vinhelm needed to kidnap him."

"The rest of us went to Derris-Kharlan to rescue him and ended the plot once and for all." Genis finished quietly, trembling in place at the memories, "It was a traumatizing experience for us all but Caleb took it hardest. That's when mentioning Mithos around him became taboo."

"Why the heck are you messing with our faces?" Valerie demanded as Wren moved to examining Tucker, peering into the technophile's eyes through his glasses.

"Have you been eating what gets cooked by the chefs here?" the blonde replied with a question of his own, frowning at Tucker before moving on to Danny and blinking in surprise. "**You** haven't; I can see it on your face." he remarked with wide eyes, "You've been cooking your own food."

"The cooks make all this delicious food, and we're able to touch it while out of phase, so we figured 'why let it go to waste'?" Tucker pointed out in confusion, "It's made by the Wonder Organization, so it should be super healthy." He gestured towards a nearby table loaded with various dishes of appealing meals, various salads and steaks and stews and everything imaginable. Wren frowned and marched towards the table purposely. Danny flew after him, floating by the blonde as he picked up a fork and knife and set into a perfect cordon bleu with cheese sauce.

"So Caleb can't be Mithos because he helped to destroy the plan that could have brought him back to life?" he asked, still not quite believing him.

"You're not **getting** it." the chef muttered as he cut open the food and picked at its center with a critical eye, "Mithos Yggdrasill used to be a really nice kid, a real hero. He was kind and gentle and wanted to save the world, dreaming of a world where everyone could live together. When his sister Martel was killed, his grief twisted her last wish in his mind and that's why he did that whole Cruxis thing." He lifted a forkful of the chicken and pork, and sniffed delicately at it, eyebrows furrowed together before he set it down to dip into the sauce.

"He died while still under that twisted influence and Martel's new last wish was for him to return to his old self. The Spirit of Mana, the new Martel, granted that wish the best way she could, by putting his soul into Caleb's body. Caleb represents what Mithos **should** have been, not what he **had** been." he explained and gave Danny a steady look, one without any doubt at all, "I knew it the moment I found out that his soul had been Mithos's because Caleb and I first met when I had amnesia. If he had _really_ been Mithos, I wouldn't be here right now. **None** of us would be. Mithos would have taken that opportunity to possess my body while I was at my most vulnerable and destroyed Symphonia." He sniffed at the bite of food again, then put it in his mouth and chewed a few times thoughtfully before turning his head and spitting it out.

"Okay, so what happened?" Sam remarked dryly, folding her arms over her chest, "Was it too cold in the middle?" Wren threw the fork back at the plate in a fury.

"This is _Dark_ _Chef_ cooking!" he snarled and Danny floated back in alarm at seeing the expression on his face, "Everyone who ate this has been poisoned!"

_Poison?_ Danny panicked, turning to his friends in horror, expecting them to suddenly keel over in groans and pain. Or maybe get sick and start puking all over the place. But to his surprise, they just stood there and glared at the blonde, like he'd just insulted them all.

"Are you **stupid**? We're perfectly fine! We've been eating this stuff for a couple of days now and we haven't gotten sick." Sam retorted as Tucker moved in to grab a plate with a thick steak covered in barbecue sauce and dig in.

"He's probably jealous that cooking's moved on without him. This tastes too awesome to be poisonous!" he added with a wide grin and got ready to put a forkful of meat into his mouth.

A second fork intercepted it, twisting rapidly and with enough force to snap the prongs off so they dropped into the rest of the dish. Tucker blinked a few times, stunned by the sudden attack, then turned his head to stare at the Wonder Chef standing there with the second fork in his hand, flat glare aimed at him.

"Maybe you didn't hear me the first time." he growled softly, "This food is _poisoned_. _**Veleno**._ It's not a poison meant to kill you. That's not how Dark Chefs operate. You're no good to them dead."

"Oh?" Jazz retorted with a roll of her eyes, "Then what, pray tell, does Dark Chef food do to people who eat it?"

"It makes them addicts." Danny breathed in quiet awe, his eyes wide as he remembered what Caleb told him about the Dark Chef Alliance. His friends hadn't bickered with each other as much as they used to, and ate more than they normally did during mealtimes. He hadn't touched any of the Wonder Cooks' food since that first plateful that he thought tasted strange, so maybe he had escaped the effects by eating his own cooking. But his friends and sister kept eating it, almost constantly; most of their meetings were in the galley, and when they were in Caleb's room, they would excuse themselves to go get something to eat. "The Dark Chefs would make their food so that people eating it would become addicted to their cooking!" Danny exclaimed and turned to the Wonder Chef, "That's what Caleb said they did! I bet that's what caused the Wonder War; some important people got addicted and started a war against your group under the Dark Chefs' orders!"

"That's right. People who fall under the spell of Dark Chef food lose their will to do anything but the bidding of the Dark Chefs in order to eat more of their food." Wren told the affected teens grimly, "If these fake Wonder Cooks are feeding this food to the people on those worlds covered in a mana shield, then they've all been enslaved, not saved. Martel was putting up the shields to try to prevent them from getting in in the first place!" He looked over at Danny with interest. "But you stopped eating their food and cooked your own meals. What gave you the clue that this food was poisoned?" he asked, still surprised by him.

Danny reached out and picked up a bowl of stew, a staple meal that Caleb had liked to cook for them after really tough battles. He peered into the bowl, gazing at his reflection in the broth as he thought it over. Why **did** he stop? The food had been good, but there had been something odd about it. Like something he was supposed to be tasting wasn't there, a missing ingredient. He couldn't quite grasp it, but it touched off his survival instinct and he went with it, pushing the plate of half-eaten greens away from himself that first time.

The stew in his hand was the exact same recipe Caleb used; Danny had watched him cook it plenty of times before and he had seen one of the Wonder Cooks make it the other day during dinner. As his friends looked on in shock, the halfa lifted a spoonful of the stew and sniffed at it delicately, like the Wonder Chef had done.

It smelled alright at first, but there was a faint hint of something that wasn't in Caleb's stew. Something kind of bitter. Was this what Wren was smelling? Danny then stuck the spoonful in his mouth, letting the stew rest on his tongue as much as he could as he chewed on the tender meat and vegetables. It tasted good at first, too, -as good as he can tell with his dampened senses at least- but there it was again... that sensation of something _missing_, a flavor that was supposed to be there but wasn't. He looked up at the blonde, the Wonder Chef waiting patiently for him to speak.

"Well? It's good right? Even a ghost can tell this food is awesome." Valerie remarked, looking at him as if to dare him to say otherwise, "There's no poison in it!" Danny stared at her, growing more confused by the second.

"I don't get it. Why aren't any of you tasting what I'm tasting? How can you think this is any good?" he asked of his friends, "There's something _missing_!"

"What are you talking about? Let me try that!" Genis exclaimed, fed up with being forgotten throughout the sampling of food. He marched forward, grabbed another spoon and took a spoonful of stew for himself, childishly sticking it into his mouth. He chewed it thoroughly, the teens watching him carefully, and then the half-elf grimaced as he swallowed. "Ah, man... you're right, Danny, it **is** missing something. That was awful!"

"Okay, we get it! You're all saying something's wrong with the food!" Sam declared in exasperation, throwing up her arms, "Spit it out already! **What's** missing?"

"Love." Wren replied simply, seriously, ignoring the incredulous looks from Tucker, Valerie and even Jazz, "Whenever you cook something, the emotions you're feeling at the moment are infused into the food you make. When others eat that food, they also take in your emotions and react to it accordingly."

"Soul food!" Tucker and Valerie blurted out, looking at each other in surprise that they had thought the same thing. Sam facepalmed, muttering something about racism under her breath.

"All food is soul food." the blonde corrected, "Food cooked with love and good intentions warms the heart and soul and brings health and harmony to those who eat it. That's the true power of the Wonder Chef's cooking, the only difference between a Wonder Chef and a Wonder Cook. The Cooks pour good intention and wishes of health and rejuvenation into their food when they cook. A Wonder Chef pours in love for whomever will eat their food, be it friend or enemy."

"That's what's missing in this food!" Danny exclaimed, pointing at the bowl of stew in accusation, "Love! When Caleb cooks, he puts love into it! And when I cook, I'm thinking of happy things, of us getting out of here and back to Amity Park and getting everything back to normal and stuff like that! This stuff doesn't have anything like that!"

"Oh please!" Valerie griped, grabbing the stew away from him and peering into it herself, "Next you're gonna tell us that this food's full of evil thoughts and junk, right?"

"Just about. Dark Chefs focus on how much you want their food, how much you'll crave it and what you'll do to get more of it." Wren growled, grabbing it back from her and setting it back on the table, "Those thoughts taint the food and those who eat it lose a little more of their hearts and souls each time they do. In the end, they either become slaves of the Dark Chefs, or die. Same thing either way." He turned to the pale-faced ghost boy floating by him. "We'd better start cooking if we're going to break their hold over your friends." the chef said with the tone of a commanding officer, then looked to the half-elf, "Genis, can you get rid of this tainted food? We don't want them eating any more of it."

"Right!" Genis declared with a determined grin, whipping his kendama out from nowhere and flipping it in one hand. A circle of light appeared at his feet and Danny hurriedly began pushing his protesting friends away from the table of food while Wren opened several pantries to gather ingredients. _"Crimson fire, burn!"_ Genis chanted and lifted the kendama, _"Eruption!"_

The teens watched in equal parts shock and dismay as fire and magma rushed up under the table and consumed the beautiful dishes of food, turning them to cinders. Porcelain was blackened, and all manners of salads, steaks and desserts was burnt, boiled and melted. The table itself, though made of metal and wood, remained untouched, protected by being out of phase. Only the food and the dishes and utensils were destroyed by Genis's spell.

"Noo~! All that beautiful food~!" Tucker wailed, hands flying up to his head, "Why~?"

"The only cure for Dark Chef addiction is any meal made by the Wonder Organization. All it takes is just one dish, maybe even one bite if I was the one who made it." Wren said as he cleared the space by the stove and set down a cutting board and a fruit knife. He looked over at Danny with a smile. "But I think it'll be more fruitful if **you** dashed to make the dish." the blonde added, tossing a peeled orange in his direction. Danny caught it in one hand, a surprised expression on his face.

"_Me?_ I'm not even Wonder _Cook_ level! I **just** learned how to make some of these recipes and I haven't had a whole lot of practice!" he blurted out, one hand splayed over his heart, "What makes you think I have the skill to make something that can break an addiction to food?"

"Orange you glad I'm here to teach you?"

The halfa paused at those words, blinked once, then looked down at the orange in his hand before shooting Wren a flat glare, the blonde grinning shamelessly. "Caleb's right; you **do** say an awful lot of food puns." he said in a dry tone.

"Occupational hazard. _Trattare__ con __esso._" the Wonder Chef dismissed flippantly, gesturing with one hand distractedly as he snaked out the other and caught Danny by the collar, dragging him forward to the station, "Don't worry! I'll teach you how to make a fruit salad, Wonder Chef-style!" He pointed at the ingredients for his use, "Oranges, apples, pears, pineapple, peaches, cherries, honey, white satay to sprinkle. I've already peeled the fruits that need it. The rest will be all you. Got that?"

Danny nodded slowly, still dazed at the idea that he was going to be expected to hit Wonder Chef level in making a fruit salad. He picked up the knife and set the orange down on the cutting board, about to cut into the fruit... when Wren's hand suddenly shot out and gripped his wrist, gently but with just enough force to let him know that he wasn't going to let go until he had his say.

"That's not what you do first." Wren told him softly, seriously, and Danny looked up at him in surprise, "Cooks start by cutting up the fruit according to the recipe, Wonder Cooks shake off their previous emotions and focus on their ingredients, but the Wonder Chef... he has to prepare himself **before** he can even touch his ingredients." He gave a little smile at the halfa's confused expression and released his hand, "Do what I do and listen to what I say. This is the way the Wonder Chef cooks; I'll give you the basics, proficiency in it comes with time and practice."

Danny watched the young man straighten his back, take a deep breath, then exhale slowly and relax himself into a more comfortable standing position before he spoke again, a quiet and calm tone that was much warmer-sounding.

"Take a deep breath, slowly let it out and relax yourself. Let go of everything that was bothering you before this moment." the blonde murmured, "The only thing that should matter now is the food you're about to make, so worries and stress must be set aside." Danny nodded and faced forward, pulling himself up straighter and taking in a deep breath of his own. He thought about all the dangers his friends were in, about Caleb still following the fake Adam out of blind loyalty, about how this Trial might be the toughest yet because of how much effort Nebilim had put into making this level... and then he exhaled slowly and relaxed, forcing himself to let it all go, just for now.

A weight lifted from him and he felt lighter, freer, his thoughts more clear, and he opened his eyes in surprise, looking up to see Wren grin down at him.

"Next, think of who you're going to cook for, your friends and family. Think of them, and remember how much they love you and you love them, every good memory, every good moment spent with them." he went on quietly, "Think of how much they mean to you."

And Danny closed his eyes again, going through all his memories, new and old, of his friends and sister; Tucker and Sam being his friends through thick and thin, staying by him when he was in that accident and helping him stay sane as he took his first steps down the road to Herodom, playing video games with Tucker and laughing together over pizza and sodas, taking Sam to the movie she wanted and watching her eyes light up at the on-screen mayhem after a fight that nearly rewrote history for them all. He thought of those dates with Valerie that showed him that he _could_ be liked for being Danny Fenton even though her hidden rage had made it impossible to continue, their friendship even after the breakup was precious to him. He thought of Jazz, his sister, who meddled in his affairs because she truly cared about his well-being first, even if he didn't understand -or if he did, tried to bury it by acting the obnoxious brother-, who found out on her own he was Danny Phantom and backed him up, setting aside her demands for normalcy whenever and wherever he was concerned.

Their love for him, their caring and support and friendship, warmed him deeply. His thoughts suddenly shifted to the salad he would be making for them, mentally jumping ahead to serving them the dishes and imagining their smiles, their delight, at receiving the treats.

_'For you. I want you to be happy, to be healthy, to feel how much I care about you all. I'd do anything for you guys. Can you understand that? Even with just me giving you a snack as thanks for you being there for me?'_

The emotions surged suddenly, and Danny gasped at how it felt like a pressure, rushing into his limbs and making him feel light-headed, weighing down on him. He felt like he was going to be crushed under it!

"Stay calm. What you're feeling is normal, part of the process." Wren spoke quickly, calmly, and Danny felt his hand on his shoulder, a tingling sensation like when Lloyd touched him, "Don't get overwhelmed; just relax and let it simmer down until it feels like it's washing through you. Like you're treading water in a warm pool."

He tried, taking more of those calming breath exercises that Sam once taught him and he thought it was kind of dumb but he went along with it because it made her happy, which in turn made him happy. The surge rose again with just that thought and Danny struggled to keep afloat of it, startled that even faint thoughts of something attached to his friends brought up so much... emotional energy. He tried thinking of it like a pool, like Wren had suggested, and he told himself very firmly that he wanted his head above the surface.

_'Calm water. I just want to float in it. C'mon, work with me. Keep me floating and I'll, um, keep providing clean water!'_

And the surge waned, settling throughout his whole body, a liquid warmth that flowed through him and around him and whispering reminders of how much he cared for his friends, how much they cared for him, the memories of their time together in the Book and beating each others' Trials together.

"I'm okay now." Danny breathed out, dimly aware of his friends, Jazz and Genis standing nearby, watching him with awed looks on their faces. "What's next?"

"Now you can cut the fruit." Wren told him, centering the orange again, "And as you're cutting, push some of what you're feeling into the ingredients. Transfer those emotions over; think of each fruit as something that will carry your feelings to the ones who will eat it." He went silent again as Danny set to cutting up the orange into bite-sized chunks.

One after another, Danny cut the fruit and separated them out into the four bowls provided. With each one, he tried to think of that warmth, his love for his friends, becoming part of them. The same care he took in protecting his friends and sister reflected in the care he took to cutting the fruit into manageable pieces; his happiness in being with them, in making them happy, reflected in his gentle hold on the fruit, careful not to crush or bruise the flesh.

When all the bowls were filled, Wren handed him the bottle of honey and Danny carefully dribbled a little amount over each pile of fruit in a spiral. It was such a pretty golden color, sparkling, like Jazz's joyful tears over being a true part of Team Phantom at last; glowing, like Sam looked when she was wearing that white angel robe in the light of the campfire in Welgaia; warm, like the fist bump he shared with Tucker after exorcising the ghost in his body just before they collapsed together after catching Sam's nasty head-cold back in the early days of being Danny Phantom.

"Last, sprinkle a bit of white satay over the salads." the Wonder Chef told him, handing Danny a bowl of white powder. The ghost boy looked into the container, one eyebrow lifted suspiciously.

"What the heck is white satay? Caleb keeps using different colors of them in his cooking." he asked.

"White satay is a sweetener, like sugar, also made from plants but with a medicinal property to them that's more potent than other spices. Satays are one of the boosters that makes food a healing item." Wren explained, "Without a satay, food is just food. Well made and delicious, but just a meal. Its medicinal value is still there, but it's not as high as if it had some satay added." He rubbed his chin, thinking. "Like, eating soup while you have a cold. Alone, it'll help replenish your energy so you can fight the cold and maybe give your body needed vitamins for other things. Add the right satay, and it'll just cure the cold straight out."

"We need more of this stuff back home." Danny chuckled, pinching out some of the white satay and sprinkling them over the fruit, "There. Is that it?"

"Yep. _Felicitazione_, Danny Phantom; I bet you didn't realize you hit Wonder Chef level just long enough to finish these." the blonde added with a wide grin, that mischievous look on his face again. Danny stared at him, his hands full with two bowls of fruit salad.

"What?" he said, too baffled to think of anything else.

"No way!" Valerie exclaimed in disbelief. She pointed at the halfa incredulously, "There is **no** way the Spook could make anything taste as good as when Caleb cooks, and the food we ate here tasted just as awesome and...!" Wren stuck a forkful of the fruit salad into her mouth, unimpressed expression on his face.

"Speaking as the Wonder Chef, I would say 'Spell your love with ketchup!' or something." the blonde told her dryly, "Speaking as Wren? Just eat it."

"And speaking as Adam?" Sam retorted daringly. The chef let his hand falter and pull away, watching Valerie take the fork herself and chew with a surprised expression on her face.

"You wouldn't want to know." he returned, then shook himself off, "Well? How is it?"

"...It's incredible! It really is **just** like Caleb's food!" Valerie blurted out, stunned as she took the bowl of fruit from the blonde and started eating, "There's no way he could have done this, but it's _so_ good! Why were we eating that other stuff again?"

Danny handed Sam her own bowl, then held the second out to Tucker with a grin. "I know you're not much for snacks that aren't meaty, but give it a shot. For me?" he asked, smiling wider when the techno-geek sighed and accepted the bowl. Beside them, Jazz took the last fruit salad from Wren. The three teens picked up forkfuls of fruit and started eating.

At first they were incredulous that anything would be different, but the dull expressions instantly changed as soon as they tasted the fruit. They looked at one another, then at Valerie. The huntress had just finished off her bowl and seemed almost overflowing with happiness from enjoying her snack. Seeing her seemed to confirm things; the salad was delicious and indeed better than the food they'd been eating before. It wasn't long before the bowls were empty and set aside, each teen hugging themselves as they felt renewed and restored.

"I feel warm inside. Just like when Caleb cooks, but this is really _warm."_ Jazz murmured and looked to her brother with a smile, "You've got some really good potential there to be a cook." Danny chuckled, rubbing his head sheepishly.

"I'll stick to ghost hunting." he returned, "So everyone's free of that addiction now?"

"Looks like it." Genis said and turned a little frown up at the halfa, "We'd better find that ghost lady and defeat her before we do anything else. How can we track her down on this ship?"

"Make a lot of noise?" Valerie suggested with a grin, hefting up her backpack and patting it.

"When Desiree attacked us, we were messing with the password screen on the elevator." Sam remarked thoughtfully, arms folded over her chest as her eyebrows furrowed together, "What if we went back to the elevator and tried entering in random passwords? She might get signalled to come back and deal with us again."

"Sounds like a good lead." Danny agreed, floating up with a new determination to beat the Trial level's trap so they could reunite with Caleb and prove the other Wonder Chef was a fake.

"If you're going into a fight, you're not going to have healing magic on your side." Wren pointed out with concern, "You're the party leader, Danny; if you accept me as a member, I can use my cooking to keep you healed and fight as well."

"Sure! Welcome to the team, Wren!" the halfa declared as the blonde nodded and held out a hand to grab a satchel of ingredients that seemed to materialize out of nowhere, "Let's get to the elevator, guys!"

* * *

The engineering deck was massive, just one huge room containing the engines, fueling chambers, cooling systems and security systems. Tubes and hatches and giant cylinders of who-knew-what lined the room, creating aisles that Caleb and Adam walked through in their search for the elusive symbol. The android had tried to take flight but the blonde had panicked at the sight of his wings and Caleb felt so horrible at seeing the frightened look on his friend's face that he pulled them back and decided he'd remove them once the two of them left the Book.

"I don't really need to have them, right?" he asked himself with an uncertain little laugh, "I mean, Wren can teleport me around with him, and I've still got a few Rheairds left if I want to fly." He went quiet, mouth thinning into a serious expression, then turned his head to watch the blonde. Adam walked along, looking up at the giant blue metal cylinders in awe.

When they had gone in, Adam had told him that he'd seen the symbol on one of them, but couldn't remember which one. That was no surprise; they all looked exactly alike. So the two of them started walking through Engineering, circling each cylinder in their search.

"So what's the world like outside of the Book?" the little chef asked as they walked together. Caleb smiled, glad for something to talk about. Adam had been strangely quiet for a couple of minutes, head bowed to hide part of his face. This renewed energy was heartening.

"It's very, very different from what we remember in Symphonia." he began, keeping his head tilted up so he could continue searching the cylinders for the Trial symbol, "No one really uses magic anymore, but the science and technology is advanced enough that a lot of things look like magic. I've kept your bloodline alive, did you know? I think you'd be really proud of how far and how strong I've kept it. One of your descendants really takes after you in cooking. He's from the United Kingdom, kind of loud, tends to swear a whole lot, but he's got a genuine love for food and a very kind heart once you get past all that. He's even got your blonde hair and tendency to get into trouble! I swear he gets food poisoning on purpose just to annoy me... makes me wonder if he enjoys having me bang my head against the walls..."

Caleb didn't hear any response to that, which was kind of odd. He would have thought that his friend would be eager to hear all about Earth and his descendants and the changes, or at least go on a rant about proper handling of food and cooking. He turned to his side, puzzled, then stopped in shock when he discovered that the blonde wasn't there. He spun around, looking back the way he'd come in hopes of seeing if maybe the chef had fallen behind.

Nothing.

There was no one in sight, not anywhere. Caleb was left alone in the massive room. His eyes wide with alarm, the android stretched out his sensor range as far as he could, searching for Adam. There wasn't any sign of him. It was like he'd just disappeared.

"Wren? _Wren!"_ Caleb cried, darting back down the aisle in search of him. He pulled up short at the blast of pink smoke that erupted in front of him, and stepped back, wary of the burst. The Wonder Fork teleported using white smoke to disguise that power; whatever was making that color smoke wasn't familiar.

A woman's laughter filled the air and a feminine figure rose from the dissipating pink cloud, arms spread menacingly as her hair swirled around her. Caleb stared first in shock, then cringed, taking another step back. With that green skin, red eyes, and spooky aura, it was clear to him that this was Desiree, the other modern ghost that Nebilim had recruited. Which meant that he wouldn't be able to fight against her, not with her being made of ectoplasm and immune to mana-based magic.

"Well, well, well! Look at what we have here..." Desiree crooned as she loomed over the android, floating in the air. She lidded her eyes, looking almost sultry as she leaned forward. "Tell me, little lost angel; what do you desire? Make a wish, any wish, and I'll make it come true." she purred.

"No, I don't... I'm not..." Caleb stammered uncertainly, stepping back again, "You can't do that. There's nothing... I've already got Wren..." A sudden memory struck him, Valerie's words replaying in his head as Desiree brought herself up and lifted her hands. The wishing ghost was on phase with her and Raven and the rest of the team. If she was supposed to be there, then... why was she now in phase with him? And where did the Wonder Chef go?

"If you're not going to make a wish, then you're of no use to me!" the ghost raged and threw her hands forward, brilliant pink light flashing as her own brand of magic hit a cylinder. It sprouted legs and a massive mouth, malevolent red eyes appearing on its top, the thing turning out to look like a giant spider. Caleb looked over his shoulder in horror as it ripped itself up from the floor and started moving after him, its legs clicking and scrabbling over the metal plates in a frenzy. "Let's see how you fare against **my** magic, Fallen Angel!" Desiree exclaimed and laughed, lashing out her tail and whipping it against the redhead, throwing him backwards into the spider's path.

Caleb hit the floor and slid along its smooth surface a few feet, arms and legs flailing in order to get a grip. He managed to come to a stop and rolled aside just as one of the spider's legs stabbed down towards where he'd just been. He kept rolling as, one after another, more legs stabbed down, punching holes into the floor. Finally, the android managed to gain just enough traction to flip up onto his feet and jump away from another attempt to skewer him on the tip of the metallic leg.

He darted ahead once he landed, gaining some distance as the spider scrambled to reorient itself and find him. Spinning around, Caleb held up a hand and traced a sigil into the air quickly, eyes wide with panic as he watched it bear down on him while he was forced to stand still for the spell. "It's going to be weak, but I've got to try!" he breathed, _"Holy wings, I beg of thee to reveal thy glory!"_ He quickly called out his wings, metal shifting against metal as they fanned out and fired on the jets of mana. The activation of the wings reduced the amount of power going into his magic, but it was the only way to cast this particular spell. _"Angel Feathers!"_

The mana from his wings shot forward in a spray of glowing chakrams trailing white feathers as they raced ahead to slam into the massive spider. It was knocked off balance, and it stumbled about drunkenly, trying to get its legs back under it properly. Caleb cheered at the sight; magic worked on **that** thing at least, even if it was animated using ghost magic. There wasn't enough ectoplasmic contamination to protect it from spells, so he could fight against it!

Desiree rushed in from behind, grabbing him by transforming an arm into a giant noose and slinging it over Caleb's neck to yank him into the air. He grabbed onto the noose, trying desperately to pull it loose while she whirled in place, swinging him around at dizzying speed. He screamed, eyes shut against the disorienting blur of colors. The ghost released him at last, slinging him at the massive spider that scrabbled towards the two of them, mouth opened to receive its redheaded snack.

"Aaaaagh!" Caleb screamed, shooting into the gaping maw, but there was too much speed, too much force, and he slammed into the other side of the spider's 'body', ripping a hole through it before hitting another cylinder hard enough to leave an impression of himself on the metal. He remained suspended there for a second, pained expression clear on his face, before he pulled away from the metal and fell towards the floor a few hundred feet below him.

Red mana shot brokenly from his back before flaring into the shape of wings, and Caleb pulled up sharply, dodging Desiree as she charged after him with a furious shriek, hands forward in an attempt to claw at him. The redhead dropped off on top of another cylinder, wings collapsing as he spun and summoned up another magic circle of light at his feet, fingers tracing another design in the air before him.

_"Bring down the blade of the inferno!"_ he called out and slammed his palm against the completed sigil, _"Flame Lance!"_ A fiery sword materialized, spearing the spider as it impacted and exploded. It was knocked forward, part of its body melting under the intense heat, and Caleb managed a smile as he huffed for air before crying out in surprise. Desiree flew back and around, transforming her arm into sledgehammer that she smashed into him from behind. He was hurled down from up high, wings shooting out in a desperate attempt to catch himself as he lost all connections to his legs. The damage was bad and he flapped his wings rapidly, making his way to another series of cylinders, weaving through them in an effort to shake off Desiree and the giant half-melted spider still on his tail.

_"Eternal Sword Pin, restore the damage done to me by the enemy which follows my movements here!"_ Caleb exclaimed, one hand slapping over his Pin. He didn't want to use it, already regretted doing so, but he didn't have a choice. There was no access to the Soulfire since it was out of phase and he had left the party, he didn't have the time to pull out his tools and make manual repairs, and if he wasn't able to move his legs, he'd be helpless if he touched down to cast spells.

The Pin glowed a brilliant violet and Caleb sighed in relief as he felt the severed connections to his legs come back online again. He landed on the run, pulling his wings back in as he slowed to a jog and spun again, searching the area visually for signs of the wishing ghost. He could hear the metal spider scrabbling around, bumping into the other cylinders as it tried to maneuver around them and reach him. It was Desiree that worried him; he couldn't sense ectoplasm, couldn't track it from a distance, and ghost flight didn't have a sound. He had only sight to rely on, and that would be rendered useless if she just turned invisible.

He was panting, breathing hard as he pressed his back against the cylinder he leaned against, sliding along it to try hiding in its shadow.

"Hello~." Desiree purred darkly, smiling widely over Caleb's shoulder. The android halted instantly, stiffening as he turned his head slowly to look back at her, green eyes wide with horror. The wishing ghost was mostly intangible, head and shoulders protruding through the metal cylinder. "Being a ghost of the modern times certainly _does_ have its advantages. Don't you wish you could be made more _adaptable?"_ she added, sliding her arms out and around him to dance her fingers over the center of his chest, right above the Tri-Crystal System.

In a flash, Caleb ducked out of the circle of her arms and lunged aside, grabbing the teaspoon from his belt and whipping it free as he glared at the laughing ghost woman. "Stay away from me! Where's Wren? What have you done to him?" he demanded.

"Make a wish." Desiree taunted and waved her hands up to fire more of her own magic at the cylinder that was behind the android. It, too, sprouted legs, eyes and mouth like a metal spider and ripped itself free. Caleb shot back into the air, wings flapping like mad to get him away from both the spider and the ghost.

"Think, think, think!" he panted as he swerved around other cylinders to evade the second spider, "How am I supposed to defeat something that magic can't touch?" He looked back over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes at the lack of Desiree following him. The spider was struggling to chase after him without smacking into the other metal containers, so that was good. But wait... where was that first spider monster?

He faced forward just in time to see the giant green and gooey web that stretched between two cylinders in front of him, the half-melted spider crouched near it with its mouth pulled up in a huge smile. **"No!"** Caleb cried in alarm, pulling back his limbs and wings flaring to kill his speed, all in an effort to halt himself before he smacked right into the web. It wasn't quite enough; his left leg overcompensated and wound up caught in the goo at the ankle. He flapped his wings, trying to pull his foot free of the web as it stretched to keep its grip on him.

"No, no, _**no**_!" he gasped, slashing at the goo with his steel teaspoon, "Let me go!" He pulled back again, flitting back and forth in the hopes that he could stress the length of ectoplasmic webbing enough to make it snap. "Let me **go**_,_ let me **go,** _let me **go**!_" Caleb's cries became more panicked, more frantic. This wasn't how he pictured his search for the Trial symbol going; he was supposed to find it after a little while of looking with the Wonder Chef's help, he would activate it -hopefully without much trauma-, and the two of them would beat it easily with their combined magic.

Desiree flew up behind him with a laugh and lashed her tail against the redhead, smacking him forward and into the web. It wobbled, springy, like a trampoline, and Caleb gripped the strands that held his body fast, limbs splayed out uselessly. He glared tearfully over his shoulder at the wishing ghost smiling victoriously at him, then let the expression melt into a hopeless one, turning away and closing his eyes as he rested his cheek against the sticky goo that was the web. His wings shut off and folded down into his back, and Desiree laughed aloud, throwing her arms up in triumph.

"I've done it, Lord Nebilim!" she crowed, the decorations on her harem outfit jangling with her movements, "I've defeated the Guardian Angel of Heroes!"


	40. Chapter 40

A/N:Revamped with proper dialogue for Wren. Anyone interested in seeing what Caleb looks like, the link is at the top of my profile.

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40

Danny led the group as they raced to the elevator. It was almost surreal, knowing he had Genis and the Wonder Chef as part of the team, even if it was just temporary. It was like having the best things about Caleb split between two people. And thinking about that brought the android to mind; Danny still couldn't quite bring himself to decide for himself if Caleb was really his own person or under the influence of Mithos. Wren had given a good argument for Caleb's defense, but it would help if there was something more... tangible. Like, physical proof that Caleb really wasn't under the control of that nutcase angel.

They had just reached the elevator when the familiar wisp of blue mist wafted from Danny's mouth, and he pulled short of the elevator doors, fists charging up with ghost power. Jazz pulled out the Fenton Peeler, hitting the button to encase her in its armor, while Valerie activated her Red Huntress suit, one hand reaching up to touch near her ear. Genis moved towards the back, one hand tugging on Wren's sleeve to bring him to the rear as well. Sam searched her bag for the last Jack-O-Nine Tails, determined to be part of the battle this time. Tucker looked at the elevator suspiciously, moving up to it to study the screen.

"It's been unlocked! It says that there was a magic shield, but it's gone now!" he exclaimed after a moment, blinking in surprise at the green light that highlighted the selection for Engineering. "We can get to the engineering deck!"

"A magic shield? That could be why Danny couldn't fly through it." Jazz surmised, turning to her brother, "Ectoplasm can't touch mana, so ghost powers bounce off of magic shields the way magic bounced off your ghost shields all this time."

A blast of pink smoke erupted in their midst, driving the team to separate into two, and Desiree appeared with a snarl, glaring at them all. "You're not ruining this plan! Not after Lord Nebilim has invested so much of himself into it!" she fumed, lashing about with her tail to knock a few of the teens over. Danny flew over the attack, blasting her with a double Ghost Ray to shove her down the hall, Genis and Wren ducking aside to keep from being bowled over as well.

"The two of you, stay behind me!" he barked at the ancient Heroes, "She's a wishing ghost, so don't make any wishes! Every time she grants a wish, she gets stronger!" They scrambled to run behind him, taking shelter behind the half-ghost. Desiree flailed and rose back up, even more furious than before. Genis started flipping his kendama, concentrating on a spell, while Jazz came up beside him and opened fire with the Peeler, growling whenever Desiree dodged the beam.

_"I call upon the power of the holy blade!"_ Genis declared and held out the toy, _"Prism Sword!"_

"Ack! No, Genis, mana magic doesn't work on modern ghosts!" Sam called out in alarm. She lashed the Jack-O-Nine Tails out over their heads as the short barrage of glowing white swords exploded right around and on Desiree with no effect at all. The ghost laughed at the ineffectiveness of the spell before yelling in fury over being wrapped and shocked by the Jack-O-Nine Tails. Enraged, she struggled with the ropes once the current faded and managed to snap them apart, sending Sam stumbling back at the loss of her last anti-ghost weapon. Genis gaped for a few seconds, then quickly withdrew to stay behind Danny, darting about as the halfa flitted back and forth, switching to using the Ice Ray in an attempt to freeze Desiree.

"Gah! You should have said so sooner! What kind of a ghost can't be hit using _magic_?" the half-elf cried in a panic, "I even used the Light Element! Ghosts are supposed to be weak against it!"

"Modern ghosts use ectoplasm, not mana!" Danny shouted back over his shoulder, frustrated by Desiree's evasiveness. Even with Tucker joining in with bursts from the Fenton Lipstick and Valerie using her ecto-rifle, she kept squirming out of the way, vanishing into one wall and reappearing from another to lash at them with her tail or whatever she transformed her arms into. "The two can't hit each other because they're too different!" Danny finished, head twisting back and forth to keep track of where she was appearing and firing back, "Just stay back! Sam, pass him a Specter Deflector!" He blinked, realizing something just as he finished talking. Genis had acted to fight back, but what about Wren? What was the Wonder Chef doing?

He glanced around quickly while Sam pulled the complicated-looking belt from her pack and clipped it around Genis's waist. There! The blonde knelt beside Valerie, whipping a bowl of something white and milky into a frenzy, a focused look on his face. He reached into his satchel, brought out a jar of something white and sparkling, and opened it to shake some of the glittering powder into the mix. Danny couldn't believe what he was seeing; was Wren _cooking_ in the middle of a fight? _Seriously?_

The milky stuff started getting thicker, taking on a familiar consistency, and Danny managed a few more blasts to keep Desiree at bay until someone was able to get a Fenton Thermos out to capture her.

"What the-? Why are you making _ice cream_ at a time like this?" Valerie yelled in exasperation after she finally noticed what Wren was doing beside her, "Nobody's been hurt yet and... how are you freezing that without a refrigerator?"

"Valerie! He's the Wonder Chef! He makes soup that can fix broken bones; why the hell are you questioning him about ice cream?" Sam yelled at her in equal exasperation.

Wren shaped the vanilla ice cream into a trio of scoops in the bowl, swirling on some chocolate syrup and adding a few chopped nuts and bright red cherries. He stood up and held the bowl in one hand, grinning, and Danny felt just the littlest bit unnerved by that grin. Okay, so maybe Genis had a point about Wren being scary when mad. But he didn't even _look_ angry! He just finished making ice cream!

"Hey! Desiree! I scream for ice cream!" the Wonder Chef exclaimed, bringing the ghost woman's attention on him. Her eyes went wide with shock, as if realizing for the first time that he was among the teens fighting her. He threw the bowl of ice cream at her with as much force as he could muster. It sailed through the air and hit Desiree, ice cream splattering over her body. The teens stared at the mess of ice cream in shock, then looked at the grinning chef, then back again. Genis shook his head and groaned, lifting his hands to his face.

At first, nothing happened, and Desiree glared down at the cold vanilla ice cream spread over her skin and clothes before lifting glowing red eyes to meet the sparkling blue of Wren's own. Then a wave of ice suddenly rushed out from the frozen treat, passing over Desiree's figure and freezing her in place as she cried out in shock. Her hands lifted shakily in an attempt to attack before the ice completely covered her over but just couldn't do it.

Team Phantom was left with a completely frozen over Desiree in front of them. They collectively turned their heads to stare at Wren, blinking in unison.

"What was **in** that ice cream?" Jazz asked in a stunned voice. The Wonder Chef rolled his eyes upward in thought, counting off ingredients on his fingers.

"Milk, cream, sugar, vanilla bean extract..." he started and Danny waved his hands before himself frantically.

"Okay, okay! She meant that rhetorically!" he blurted out, "But seriously, you can make food into weapons? I thought all your cooking just healed people and stuff!"

"We do have an extensive menu of attack dishes. Ice cream just happens to be one of them." the Wonder Chef returned with a bright smile, "Useful for fighting wild dragons, _and~_ they make the perfect summer treat on the beach! Did you know that Kratos's favorite flavor is mint chocolate chip?" He bounced on his feet cheerfully.

"Oh my god, you're insane." Valerie groaned softly, one hand rising to her forehead, "How did we get involved in this stuff again?"

"Well, at least the ice cream gave Desiree some major brain freeze." Danny quipped dryly, swinging his pack around to dig out a Fenton Thermos, "All we have to do is just aim a Thermos at her and that'll take care of Nebilim's last recruit."

He stepped forward to capture Desiree, but halted at the sight of cracks appearing all over the ice. They spread over her, tiny fissures that multiplied rapidly and splintered, exploding outward as Desiree broke free of the ice, furious with what had happened. The teens braced themselves, ready for a renewed battle. A pale violet tendril shot out from the explosion of ice, the ghost's tail, and it slammed into Danny and Wren together, sending them flying backwards into the elevator.

"You've got the Wonder Chef in phase!" Desiree hissed, floating above them malevolently, "Which means the rules of the game have changed..." She smiled widely, toothily, then dove down through the floor with a cackle.

"She escaped below, probably to Engineering." Valerie growled and spun on her heel to get into the elevator herself, "Come on! We've got to go after her before Nebilim catches on to the fact that we've got the real Adam on our side and throws something else at us!" Danny climbed to his feet and helped Wren up, the rest of the teens hurrying into the elevator with them.

They crowded the little room, Sam hit the button for Engineering, and the teens huddled together, facing the doors. Down, down, down, the elevator descended into the depths of the _FireBlossom_, coming to a gentle stop and the doors slid open. Warily, Danny slipped to the forefront, turning intangible to pass through the group and touch down on the metal floor. He looked around, taking in the many massive cylinders and tubes that seemed to make up rows throughout the entire deck. Like the whole level was dedicated to the engines far in the distance, whining softly with power.

The teens all emerged into the deck once they confirmed that they wouldn't be attacked immediately, looking around in awe of their new surroundings. Tucker whistled in appreciation.

"The _FireBlossom_ has some serious power to it." he remarked and Wren turned his head sharply to stare at him. The techno-geek raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What?"

"This ship is called _FireBlossom_?" he echoed, eyes wide. Danny paused in the air, turning back to pay more attention to them. "As in Peppermint FireBlossom?"

"Wasn't she Caleb's friend? A mana beast or something?" the halfa asked and Wren nodded, tracing a half-circle around his neck.

"She was his companion, and the original source of his mana crystals. Pepper was pure white with red seal-points, and wore a green sash and brass bell for a collar, with the Summon Spirit gems decorating it." he replied and looked despondent, "She was like his daughter; he hatched her from a rescued egg and raised her himself."

Sam froze herself, eyes wide as the group walked on without her. That sounded like a description of the insignia on the computer screen she had seen when they first arrived on the level. And the items, a green sash and a brass bell with gems; she had seen those before. They were in a wooden box in Caleb's satchel, along with his hair ribbons and assorted other things. Did that mean Pepper was gone? She gripped the straps of her backpack, thinking on the many items she had searched through back in Welgaia.

Lifting her gaze as she hurried to catch up to the group, the Goth spotted a flash of red in the distance and cried out in surprise at seeing Caleb walk down an aisle with Adam, the fake younger one. Desiree shot down from overhead and pulled up beside the blonde, bending to murmur into his ear.

"Guys?" she called out warningly, not liking what she was seeing. Adam halted in place, then spun around to glare directly at her, red cape fluttering behind him as he moved, _"Guys!"_

"What?" Danny returned, turning back to look at her in confusion. Sam pointed in the direction of the other blonde and the ghost, the group halting to see what was going on.

"Desiree's _talking_ to the fake Adam! I thought being out of phase means no contact!" she cried in alarm.

"He's got my fork?" Wren yelled angrily, "Why do people keep trying to take it when they don't even know how to **use** it?"

The little blonde figure in the distance lifted the fork, and both he and Desiree began to glow, a black aura surrounding them both. After a moment, the wishing ghost vanished and Adam came racing towards them, the fork held out to one side like a sword about to swipe them.

"Wait, he can see us? What did he do, with that black glowing thing?" Jazz exclaimed, "Could Caleb see us too?"

"No, he can't." Valerie answered quickly, hefting up her rifle again, "What happened to Desiree? She just disappeared!" Beyond the incoming blonde, the group could see Caleb turn around suddenly, searching the area with an air of confusion before running down the aisle himself. Then there was the laughter of Desiree filling the air, a blast of pink smoke appeared, and she was rising up from it. Valerie pointed the gun at her and fired, the blast going past Adam's head to reach the ghost... and it just went straight through her without any effect.

"She's out of phase with us!" Danny cried in horror, "Adam and Desiree swapped phases; she's going after Caleb and he's...!"

"Coming after you!" Adam finished with a laugh, swinging the fork around to unleash a wave of light at the group.

_"Force Field!" "Guardiano!"_ Genis and Wren both cried out, one holding his kendama forward, the other crossing his arms into an 'x' before himself. Danny threw a wall of ghost energy before himself and his friends, bracing against the wave that slammed into them all. It dissipated into nothing when it touched his wall, but it impacted the bubbles of green mana protecting the half-elf and the chef beside them, shoving the two back a few inches.

"Can your fork **do** that?" Danny yelled over at the chef and Wren shook his head, glaring at his imposter.

"No! The Wonder Fork wasn't designed to ever do anything like **that**!" he returned in outrage, throwing his hands up towards the fake that took to just spinning the utensil at his side once it was apparent that the waves of light weren't actually hitting, "And even if it could, some stupid fake me would **never** be able to pull it off! The Wonder Fork only responds to those of the Wonder Chef level! Caleb and I built it that way using the blueprints of the original one; I just added an extra ingredient!" Wren started banging on the wall with both fists, snarling viciously enough to startle the teens closest to him while the fake just laughed at him, _"Figlio di puttana! Vai e fottiti!"_

Sam clapped her hands over her ears, eyes wide as saucers as she stared at the blonde. Genis winced, then sighed, shaking his head as he lifted his own hands in that annoyingly familiar pose. "See what I mean?" he told Danny, "And we have to put up with that **every** time we discuss Caleb and he happens to not like the direction we're going." The halfa started to wonder what exactly Caleb saw in the chef that could be called 'kind and gentle'.

_'And they call **me** the fanboy?'_ Danny thought to himself and sighed, shoulders slumping as he went back to directing his attention on the fake.

Adam now stood before the group, smiling wide enough to bare teeth as Caleb and Desiree fought some yards away behind him. Danny looked past him quickly, wishing he could be in proper phase to help fight the ghost, then refocused on the blonde before them all. He'd known all along this was a fake Wonder Chef, an evil little monster of a copy that Nebilim cooked up to throw Caleb off his game, but it was really creepy to see that kind of a face from the blonde. How could Caleb have been so fooled? He didn't even _feel_ like the real Wonder Chef!

Just to be sure, Danny took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and let that sense of friend/foe show him more clearly. Yep, Wren touched off on 'friend', a warm presence that almost made him want to turn and just fall into the guy's arms for a hug despite him still swearing up a storm. The feeling reminded him of his mom and dad and Jazz and all his friends, just one massive group hug waiting to happen. Adam, however, -and Danny had already arranged his head to tell them apart in his head by calling the real Wonder Chef 'Wren' and the fake 'Adam'- just _screamed_ 'foe' with a cloying feeling that reminded him of an oil slick on skin, suffocating and putrid.

"...And stop wearing my face from that time!" Wren finished yelling, "That whole year was the most embarrassing part of my life! I had to put up with Caleb's constant mothering and teasing through the whole thing!" Adam simply shrugged, the tilt of his head making his toothy smile look even creepier.

"All part of the game, Wonder Chef." he replied and turned his focus on Danny, "Gotta admit, watching you squirm was just so much fun." He smiled wider, crinkling his eye into a crescent shape at the look of shock on the halfa's face. "Oh, you didn't know? I'm the master of this level, which meant I could see what's out of phase." Danny glared at him intensely, eyes going vivid yellow-green, before hearing Caleb's scream snapped him out of it. He looked up, dismayed by how badly Desiree was beating the angelic android. "If you want him saved, you know what to do." Adam remarked with a chuckle, "Trade off. The Fallen Angel and the Wonder Fork for you and the Key Crest."

"Key Crest?" Wren whispered in surprise, eyes wide.

"No way! We're not sacrificing Danny for anything!" Sam shot at the blonde furiously, "Not when we all already know everything there is to know about Caleb! We already know his soul came from Mithos! You're trying to revive him; _that's_ how you mean to have Caleb destroy the world!"

"We don't have time to bother with this fake; let's find the thing keeping us out of phase and destroy it!" Jazz hissed into Danny's ear, "Then we can stop Desiree and get to convincing Caleb that this isn't really his friend! We'll deal with the Mithos part of him after all this, when he's not at risk of rampaging on **us**!"

Blasts of magic were going off in the distance, the android doing his best to combat whatever Desiree was throwing at him, and Valerie was itching to do something, shifting back and forth on her feet. Danny took a deep breath, then nodded quickly.

"Valerie, Jazz, Tucker! Find whatever could be keeping us out of phase and wreck it! Sam, Genis, Wren, you're with me!" the halfa declared and fired a blast of the Ghost Ray at Adam, the blonde holding up his arms and fork defensively as the blast threw him backwards. "We're getting the fork back ourselves!"

"Got it!" Valerie agreed, which would have startled Danny if he hadn't been too busy with fighting the fake chef that was now lashing back at them with more waves of light. The three teens ran off, starting a search for anything that could look like a machine meant to separate the party.

_"May the merciless embrace of frost take thee! Absolute!"_ Genis called out as he cast another spell, thrusting the kendama into the air. A swirl of wind and ice exploded up from underneath Adam, the blonde holding up his limbs and the fork to block most of the damage again. A blast of ghostly energy came in from above as the second assault, and Danny flew in to make sure that Adam was thrown back further away from Genis.

"BombBons away!" Wren exclaimed, throwing a handful of chocolate bonbons into the fray. Danny raised an eyebrow incredulously before jerking back in the air as the candies hit the floor at Adam's feet and exploded like flash bombs.

"What are you putting in your _food_?_"_ the ghost teen shouted down at the chef.

"Ask Caleb for the recipe!" Wren returned, kneeling to work on another dish as Genis began casting another spell. Danny rolled his eyes, shooting off to dive right at Adam. The imposter lifted the fork in both hands to block his attack, still grinning up at him. Why was he smiling so much? What was he up to?

Adam shoved the head of the fork up suddenly, slamming the flat of it against Danny's head. "Ack!" the halfa yelped in pain, eyes shutting tight against several more blows. His head ached and dizziness washed over him as he saw stars, then the imposter spun in place and flung him away. Danny sailed through the air, head over heels, before crashing into the floor. Sam raced on past him, growling as she darted right into the blonde's face and started slashing at him with her dagger. Adam's smile stayed in place as he hopped backwards almost daintily, dodging swings and returning attacks with the fork.

_"Reduce these evil souls to ashes!"_ Genis finally declared and thrust his kendama up with a little hop, _"Explosion!"_

Another blast of fire and heat went off, swallowing the fake chef and the Goth together as Danny lay in a daze on the floor, one hand pressed to his head. Wren dropped beside him and held him up, putting a cabbage roll to his mouth and urging him to eat. The halfa chewed a few bites and blinked as his head cleared almost immediately. He was left sitting there with the roll in one hand, staring after the blonde as he darted after his imposter and threw a bowl of rice pudding after him, Sam joining in to take another swipe at the younger chef.

"Man, these guys take food fights way too seriously." Danny muttered under his breath and hunched his shoulders with a wince at the sound of two huge metal drums smashing into each other. What the heck was **that**? He craned his head upward as a shadow passed over the little battlefield, and gaped as what looked like a half-melted glowing metal spider made out of one of the cylinders spat out a web of gooey green ectoplasm between another pair of cylinders. "Huh? Why's there a ghost spider here?" he added in confusion.

"Let's throw a wrench in the works, shall we?" Adam's voice exclaimed with a laugh as Genis loped along to stand by Danny, flipping his kendama again. The half-ghost jumped up to a hover, watching the imposter run by while still being chased by Wren, the Wonder Chef now hurling what looked like sugar cookies after him. Each one that hit the floor or a cylinder exploded into a shower of shrapnel. Where had Sam gone?

"I'm not liking the sound of that." Danny groaned softly, glancing around to try finding her, "C'mon, guys, break that thing already so we can help Caleb!"

_"Infinite powers, grant me thy strength!"_ Genis chanted, _"Meteor Storm!"_ As the shower of massive burning rocks came down on Adam and Wren's heads, the half-elf looked up and around in concern. "What's with that big spider web? Is there a giant fly on the loose?" he asked inanely and turned his head to watch Danny for a reply. The ghost teen shook his head slowly, looking up at it again as his mind turned over what else could possibly be caught in a suspended web. Something large with wings... oh no!

"Caleb!" he cried out in alarm, hands flying up to grip his head, "That thing will tangle him up if he's not paying attention!"

"What are you talking about? Did Caleb bring a Rheaird in here?" Genis returned in confusion.

The spell ran out by then, and Danny's attention went back to looking for an opening to blast Adam again. The two blondes had managed to run into one another and now fought over control of the Wonder Fork, yanking it back and forth as they held on tight with both hands. He winced, thankful that Wren was a member of his 'party' and looked older than Adam, otherwise this would have been one of those cliched moments where having twins fighting could confuse the hell out of him.

That black glow started swirling around Adam again, and Danny watched in shock as the smaller blonde thrust the Wonder Fork up to force Wren to drop his defenses, then kicked the other chef squarely in the gut, passing the black aura on to him. Wren flew back with a cry of pain, hitting the floor and curling up. Sam dashed out from behind one of the huge cylinders, eyes wide as she put her dagger away to kneel by the blonde.

"Sam! What were you doing?" Danny called out to her, "Is he okay?"

"We were trying to ambush that faker!" Sam shouted back as she checked Wren over for injury, "He looks okay, but what was that thing the other guy did? Some kind of spell?"

"I don't _care_ how many rules get broken this time! I've gained the upper hand!" Adam crowed, spinning the fork in his hand and thrusting up to point at the web. Danny, Sam and Genis followed his gesture, staring in unison at the redhead caught in the web, Desiree floating in the air behind him and laughing as well.

"I've done it, Lord Nebilim! I've defeated the Guardian Angel of Heroes!" she cried out in victory.

"How'd he get all the way up there?" Genis mumbled, eyes wide.

"No! That **can't** be how this goes!" Danny cried and turned his glare on the little blonde chef that stood there, smiling at him as he continued holding the giant fork in his hands. "What did you do to them? To Caleb and to Wren?" he demanded, shooting after him in a rage just as Sam threw a hand up and cried out for him to stop.

"Changed the way the game works!" Adam laughed, blue eyes turning red gleefully as he swung the fork and batted Danny aside to join the other blonde on the floor, "I've cut the chef's connection to the Spirit of Mana, just as I did to the Fallen Angel. When your friends destroy the phase crystal, we'll **all** be brought into the same wavelength!" Sam supported Danny as he pushed himself up, rubbing his head as Wren finally sat up, wincing in pain. "Who do you think he'll side with then? The cute little Wonder Chef holding the fork, or his former party leader being guided by a 'fake' one?" Adam taunted in the face of four sets of glares being directed at him.

And then all the lights went out.


	41. Chapter 41

A/N: Unbeta'd. Anyone interested in seeing what Caleb looks like, the link is at the top of my profile.

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41

The three teens raced through the engine room in search of anything that could be causing them to stay out of synch with the rest of the level. Blasts and screeches of metal in the background urged them onward, and Tucker winced at the sight of red mana streaking through the air, the color bursting sporadically. On a hunch, he pulled out his PDA and clicked it on, murmuring pleas for it to hurry and boot up. He had to check on Caleb's systems, figure out how much damage he'd taken and if that Special Arte gauge was still charging.

"I should have asked Genis what else can charge up a Special Arte!" he yelled as he chased after Valerie and Jazz. The device lit up and Tucker touched on the programs that would link him to the android.

"Why? He hasn't been taking any damage until now and there's no way he's going to cut a Special loose on Desiree when it's not even going to touch her!" Jazz shouted back, scanning their surroundings.

The PDA beeped and Tucker glanced down at the screen, opening his mouth to report the damage total just as the number rolled back rapidly to one percent. "Whoa! Whatever happened, he just recovered his damages. Must have used the Pin to do it." he remarked and noticed the communications tab blinking. "Hey! He's broadcasting something!" he exclaimed, clicking on the tab. Valerie looked back at him in surprise, then turned back forward and touched her fingers to her earpiece.

_"Caleb! Are you still online? If you can hear me, listen for the love of God! The fake Adam and Desiree swapped phases! They're working together, that's proof that he's not your friend!"_ she hissed in a low voice and fell silent, listening desperately for a response.

"He keeps saying the same thing over again. 'Don't lie.'" Tucker read back in confusion.

_"Don't lie. Don't lie. How can you all still be lying to me?"_ Caleb yelled, half-sobbing his words, _"All I ever wanted was to have him back. Why are you all trying so hard to take him from me?"_

"He's probably still trying to convince himself that Regal was lying about that Adam being a fake." Jazz muttered and pulled up suddenly, Tucker nearly crashing into her at the abrupt stop. Valerie skidded to a halt and watched the two teens in surprise. What had made Jazz stop like that? The carrot-top pointed to the right, at a large white crystal that rested in a large machine, the stone humming with a low tone. "I don't know about you, but that looks awfully suspicious to me." she remarked and started jogging towards it. Tucker looked down at the PDA again, frowning at the gauge. It was nearly full, a few more hits and Caleb would be able to use a Special Arte, even though he was nowhere near the damage percent for an Over-Limit Mode. That was good; bad enough that he could still be under Mithos's influence and ticked off that Regal said Adam was fake, it would be worse if he was all that **and** flapping around in Avenger Mode or something.

Valerie followed, pulling her ecto-rifle around to aim at the crystal as she thought quickly. She had to come up with a way to prove to Caleb that the Adam that had led him here was a fake before they were all brought back together. If he was still on the imposter's side when that happened, no doubt he'd attack the rest of them on the guy's orders. Only, how could she prove it?

Maybe if she could get the fake to do or say something that the real Adam would never do or say? Or tell Caleb something the real Adam told them that he didn't talk about and the fake didn't mention while they were in the same room?

_"Caleb, listen to me! How can I prove to you that he's a fake? Tell me what it would take!"_ she whispered harshly. The three teens had reached the machine and crystal, and she stood guard while Tucker examined the machine carefully and Jazz ran a hand over the humming crystal.

_"I've already left the party."_ Caleb returned curtly, _"There is nothing you can do to sway me. I have Wren; we'll defeat the Trial together and I'll send all of you back to Amity Park. We'll continue the journey to fight Nebilim ourselves."_

"Gah! This whole level's just gone from bad to worse!" Valerie cried out in frustration, waving her hand and rifle about in the air, "Caleb's left the party! Any spells he hurls out now are gonna hurt the rest of us for sure!"

"How did you come to **that** conclusion?" Jazz asked over her shoulder, a puzzled look on her face. Valerie grabbed at her head, growling to herself. She really should try harder to keep their link a secret... but wait. She paused, eyes wide as she thought it over. If she told Jazz and Tucker, maybe they could help her find a way to convince Caleb that the little blonde was a fake.

"It looks like this thing's definitely making us out of phase." Tucker finally said, knocking lightly against the machine, "The machine makes the crystal vibrate, and that sends out a constant wave of energy that puts us out of synch with the level by about a second. Smash the crystal and the wave snaps us back to normal." Jazz nodded and pulled back her fist, ready to slam it into the glowing crystal.

"Wait!" Valerie blurted out, and the carrot-top paused, lowering her fist a little as she and Tucker turned to stare at her in confusion, "We're about to face Caleb ourselves and he still thinks that fake Adam is the real deal. How can we convince him that he's a fake?" She looked to Jazz, expression hidden by her mask. "Is there anything the real Adam told us that we can use to convince Caleb he's with a fake?" she asked, hoping the older girl could somehow produce a miracle. Through the clear glass faceplate, Jazz's uncertain expression wasn't helping to soothe her worries.

"Not that I can think of, Valerie. Adam's knowledge is the same as Caleb's, and Caleb's memories were all copied to create the fake Adam." she explained at last in an apologetic tone, "Mentally, the two are perfect duplicates."

"But they're not." Tucker pointed out, adjusting his glasses as the girls looked to him in surprise, "Remember what Caleb, Danny, and Adam all said? Parts of Caleb's memory about what Adam knows have been edited, erased or altered, and all by Caleb's own hand. The fake copied those altered memories, so his knowledge is incomplete." Jazz lit up in realization.

"That's right! I get it now!" she exclaimed and turned to Valerie excitedly, "We just have to know exactly what memories Caleb is missing that Adam should have and quiz the fake on them. If he can't answer with information that should belong to the Wonder Chef, then that proves he's fake!"

"I don't think it's that easy." Tucker argued with a shake of his head, "If Caleb can't remember the real information, there's nothing to compare with. The imposter can just say whatever he wants as long as it sounds like it makes sense, and Caleb will eat it up because he doesn't know any different."

"Well, if we can't slip him up by what he says, then how about the way he says it?" Valerie suggested thoughtfully, "The real Adam uses a lot of food puns and sounds kind of crazy..."

"The fake can just pretend, like he did when he woke Caleb up in his room." Jazz pointed out dryly, "We'll figure this out when we're all in synch again." And with that, she turned and punched the crystal with all her strength, yelling out a 'Hyaaah!' just for good measure. The stone shattered into a cloud of sparkling dust and the lights went out abruptly. Alarmed, the teens looked around themselves, wondering if they had made a mistake. Then the lights flickered back on but nothing seemed to be any different.

"Let's get back to Danny and the others. We still have to find a way to switch the fake Adam and Desiree back if this didn't work." Tucker finally decided and looked down at his PDA screen, frowning. "Yeah, we'd better do that. Caleb's stopped broadcasting anything; everything looks frozen. That's not a good sign." he added under his breath.

The group turned and ran on to get back into the fray.

* * *

When the lights came back on, Danny didn't know what to think. Had that been a sign that they were all in synch now? He looked up at the web that held Caleb trapped and stared in shock that the android had managed to turn his head and stare back at him with wide eyes.

And at that moment, it didn't matter if he was Mithos deep inside or not, Danny was just glad that the redhead could see them again, could see that he wasn't alone. He wanted to call out, but his voice wouldn't work with him. Why? Was it that bit of doubt still left in him? What name should he call out, Caleb or Mithos? Sam gasped beside him, moving to whip out the black hood and cloak from her backpack and throw it over the blonde beside him, and that seemed to jolt him into crying out, or at least start to.

"Mi..." he began without thinking and Wren lashed out a hand to cover his mouth, blue eye glaring up at him as Sam tied the cloak around his neck to disguise him.

"Don't you dare." he growled softly, "Say that to him, and you'll undo everything you've done to become his friend." Danny froze in place, still staring up at the android. "This is my last offering of evidence; I can't think of anything else to say to convince you that he is nothing like Yggdrasill." Wren told him, "Tell me, did he give you a Key Crest while you were here in the Book?" Danny nodded slowly, "And you didn't give him a reason to give you one before you came in here?"

"Danny found a Cruxis Crystal in the Welgaia level here; after that, Caleb made the Key Crest and gave it to him in Danny's level." Sam answered in his place, "Why?"

"Because there is no other source of inhibitor ore for making Key Crests on your world." Wren told them both, even as he kept his focus on the halfa, "There is a small supply locked away on Derris-Kharlan, but Caleb has no reason to access it and doesn't carry any with him... save for one place." He shook the halfa's arm urgently, "Danny, the Key Crest he carved to protect you; it was made from the Key Crest he was _built_ with. That's my last proof that he is his own person. Caleb pried it from his own body and reforged it to create the Crest that prevents you from being possessed by the Cruxis Crystal."

Sam blinked at those words before looking up at the android herself. That Key Crest was once a part of him, designed to hold two kinds of Crystals for some reason, but crafted as part of his initial design. All the billions of years he existed, and the Crystals were all but completely wiped out, and he still kept it even though it was useless to him. Then Danny got his hands on a Cruxis Crystal and that Key Crest became vital to keep him safe.

Mithos wouldn't have given it up; he hated humans and would have handed over a gold mount to trick Danny into becoming a vessel. But Caleb wanted him safe, and ripped the Crest from himself to remake it just for the halfa.

Danny seemed to come to the same conclusion, his expression becoming more sure, more determined. "Caleb! Hang on! We'll get you out of there!" he finally called out.

"Raven! What the **hell** is going on?" the angelic android yelled in frustration. He struggled, trying to pull his arms and legs free. Wren blinked in surprise, looking between the two of them.

"Long story, tell you later." Danny said with a roll of his eyes and shot up to fly to the rescue, "Sam, Genis! Try to get the Wonder Fork away from Adam!" The group scattered to do just that. The half-elf scampered to Wren's side and started flipping his kendama, the Goth racing after the imposter with her dagger out again. Caleb must have noticed the arrangement; red mana flared out to form his wings again and he thrashed against the web in a fury, ignoring the cries of surprise from two of the combatants below.

_'Aw man! That's right, he still thinks that's the real Wren!'_

Danny switched gears, hoping to try to talk to the redhead before setting him free. He flew straight for the web, halting in midair when Desiree appeared before him in a blast of pinkish-purple smoke, smiling wickedly at him. She lifted a hand to point at him and Danny held up his arms in anticipation of an attack, only to have his mouth drop open in shock and horror when the wishing ghost swung her arm aside and waved her now glowing hand over the web. In a burst of ghostly magic, the web vanished and Caleb immediately shot down to join Adam as the little blonde dodged and blocked Sam's pressing attack.

"No! Caleb, that's not him!" Danny cried down, _'We're in a party, he can't hurt us, his spells won't touch us...!'_

Sam uttered a small cry of surprise when Caleb dropped down between her and the fake Wonder Chef, grabbing the blade of her dagger in one hand and yanking it out of her grasp before shoving her back. Behind him, the imposter smiled widely before taking on a sweetly innocent look.

"Oh, Caleb! Thank goodness you're free! This strange girl and her friends were attacking me and I didn't know what happened to you and I was pretty sure lunch was going to be my last meal!" he blurted out in false panic as he hugged the Wonder Fork.

"Stay back and keep shielding yourself. I'll handle this." the android returned sharply, glaring at Sam, "Sam, do us all a favor and leave this deck right now, you and your friends. I don't want to have to fight you, but I will in order to protect Wren."

"But he's a fake!" the Goth shot back hotly, "He said he was going to make you lead the army to destroy our world by changing you back into Mithos-!"

_"No! Don't say that!"_ Wren screamed in a panic, hands flying up to his head as his eyes widened, but the words couldn't be taken back. Sam slapped her hands over her mouth, remembering far too late that the Wonder Chef had warned her and Danny against that very thing.

Caleb inhaled sharply, eyes wide before they narrowed, glowing brightly, lips pulling back in a snarl as a magic circle of light bloomed at his feet, kicking up a wind around him. Desiree laughed above them all, watching Danny rush back down to pull Sam back from the infuriated android as Valerie, Tucker and Jazz ran in to join them, just in time to see what was happening.

"I..." Caleb growled out, the imposter chuckling softly behind him, "Am. **Not.** _**Mithos!**_" He threw out a hand, tracing a sigil before himself rapidly and Valerie cupped her hands over her mouth, yelling out over the wind as best she could.

"RUN! He's not in the party anymore!" the Red Huntress screamed, "He can _attack_ us!"

That was all the warning Danny needed. He flew back even further with Sam in his arms, touching down by Genis and Wren as they looked around fearfully at the darkening room. The other three teens raced to circle around both android and fake chef to reach the rest of the group. There wasn't much time to get under the protection of Danny's ghost shield, and if they didn't make it before the spell went underway...

_"Sacred powers, cast your purifying light upon these corrupt souls."_ Caleb intoned coldly.

"So much for all your proof that he's not like Mithos." Sam grumbled and flinched at the twin glares shot her way by both Danny and Wren, "What?"

"Calling him Mithos is the worst thing to do, but right at this moment? When he thinks that fake is me? That was the absolute worst time to do it too." Wren growled, "Now there's nothing holding him back."

"Why can't he _sense_ you? He picked up the mana signature of the duplicate me back in Tucker's level, so why can't he pick **you** up?" Danny muttered, "If he sensed two of you, that should give him an idea that something's wrong with all this!" Genis let out a little cry and looked up at the halfa.

"Because there's too many of them that are the same!" he cried out in understanding, "Caleb's mana, the fake Adam's, yours and the real Adam's! They all have signatures that are too similar so they must be masking each other in his sensors!"

_"Rest in peace, sinners!"_ Caleb yelled, lifting his arm up as the room darkened even further.

"There's gotta be something Caleb knows about the real Adam that the fake Adam can't copy!" Valerie cried in desperation and Danny blinked, mind racing through what he learned from the chef in the galley. Something special about him that no one else could duplicate...

"The power of love." he murmured suddenly and twisted his gaze back towards the chef, "Wren! What about your love made you more powerful than any other Wonder Chef?" The blonde gave him a blank look, uncomprehending the question. "You said you put your love into your cooking and it also made your _Incineration_ really strong, but when the Crystal was making it into hate, you got weaker. Why? What's different about your love compared to any other Wonder Chef before you?"

"I loved the world and **all** those who lived in that world, Danny; even the lives of my enemies." Wren returned grimly, "I tried to avoid killing anyone if I could help it, and I would even save my enemies if I had the ability to do it. That kind of unconditional love, the world can't bear someone who has it for very long. It's the reason why I died young, and it's also why Martel died young too."

"What's that got to do with anything?" Sam muttered, watching the air overhead for signs of the deadly beams of light, "Just put up the shield already, Danny!"

He already had. The halfa had the bit of info he needed to show Caleb that Adam was a fake, all he needed was to get the fake to slip and try to hurt him. The glowing green dome of ectoplasm washed over the group just as the android brought his palm down against the sigil with a cry of _"Judgment!"_ to finish casting the spell. Danny held it steady as he glared beyond it at the grinning blonde standing behind Caleb, multiple beams of light searing down from above and slamming into the field. Several hit the dome and dissipated into nothing, Genis and Wren looking up at the effect in surprise and awe.

"Okay, guys. I have a plan to expose the imposter, but you're gonna have to stay out of my way or it won't work." Danny muttered and started whispering to the group huddled beneath the shield.

When the spell ran its course, the dome came down and Valerie immediately took to the air, racing after Desiree on her hover board and firing blasts from the ecto-rifle while Jazz, Sam, and Tucker darted off to follow her and ignore the standoff between Caleb and the fake chef, and Danny and the ancient Heroes. Genis shook where he stood by Danny, gripping the kendama in one hand as he swallowed hard. On the halfa's other side, Wren stood ready, body and head mostly hidden by the hood and cloak, pulled low to shadow the golden-yellow strands of hair that formed his fringe.

"Y'know, if this doesn't work, Danny, you're as good as completely dead." Genis managed to stammer out, "And Caleb might not be in the right frame of mind to revive you." Danny nodded slightly and, beside him, Wren tilted his head to gaze at him soberly.

"Without the Wonder Fork, I can't make the Ultimate Recipe to revive you either. So please... be careful." he added. The redhead before them was already casting another spell, the magic circle spinning at his feet as he drew another sigil before himself.

"Here goes." Danny sighed, charging up an Ice Ray in one hand. He watched the android carefully, waiting.

_"Gentle winds, gather before me and transform into waves of air!"_ Caleb began and slammed his palm against the design floating in front of him, _"Cyclone!"_ Danny fired the ray just as the swirling green twister of mana swept over the three of them. Genis and Wren both threw up their respective shields, the bubbles of green shrinking rapidly as the spell tore at them. Danny was left unprotected by his counterattack, and he shut his eyes against the pain of having powerful winds buffeting him violently, invisible blades that sliced into him and leeched ectoplasm from the multiple cuts. His haz-mat suit soon looked more like tattered pieces of black and white fabric barely hanging onto him. He dropped to his knees, gasping as the spell ran out.

Everything hurt. Hundreds of open wounds stung horrendously and Danny felt lightheaded, the white ring blooming around his body and splitting in two to travel over him. He ignored it, let it continue changing him back to his Fenton self; he focused on the fact that his Ice Ray had hit right where he wanted and allowed a grin to form on his face.

Adam was angrily trying to break the ice off his legs with the end of the Wonder Fork. Caleb had seen the blast, had looked confused when it missed him, then panicked when he realized that it was aimed for the blonde beside him. Now he knelt by the fake chef, using the dagger he took from Sam to chip rapidly at the block of ice holding him in place. When he was freed, Adam made a show of stumbling about before gaining his balance and giving Caleb the kicked-puppy expression.

"I thought you said Danny Phantom was someone who reminded you of me!" he cried to the chagrined redhead, "Why would he attack me like that if that was true?"

"He just doesn't get how much you mean to me, Wren." Caleb tried to soothe him before turning a glare on the now human boy, "Raven! I'm giving you one last warning! Stop attacking Wren or I'll be forced to strike back again! I don't **want** to, Raven! I'm not Mithos; I don't want to hurt any of my friends!"

Danny pushed himself to his feet, shoving aside the dizziness and forcing himself to focus on changing back into his alter-ego. Just one more shot. One more. It was a strain, but the ring reappeared and passed over him, the haz-mat suit emerging complete and whole. Sometimes he wished his injuries could disappear just as handily as suit damage. He brushed his fingers over the armlet bearing the only White Quartz he had on, murmuring the command for Light Element to be infused into his Ghost Ray. Caleb's eyes widened when he lifted his hand and charged up the blast.

"Raven! Stop!" he demanded shakily, "You're **both** my friends! Just stop!"

"Only one of us can be your anchor." Danny said as steadily as he could and fired the Light-enhanced Ghost Ray at the other blonde, "Come on, Adam! Who do you think Caleb should trust?"

Adam held the Wonder Fork forward to block the attack, gritting his teeth in irritation as he was pushed back a few inches. He swung it aside and reached out a hand to push Caleb back. The android stepped back, blinking in surprise as the blonde stepped forward.

"That's something I wasn't expecting on the menu." he remarked with a grin, "Of course, Caleb's going to trust me. We've been together for years, fought back to back and went through adventure after adventure. What about you? You found out where his soul came from and spat it back in his face like overcooked fettuccini." Caleb flinched, giving the blonde a strange look, one eyebrow lifted as he tilted his head. Adam didn't notice, still smiling confidently.

Above them, Desiree fell from the sky with a shriek of fury, Valerie following her down on her board as beams of white and red cut into the air to land more hits on the ghost before Sam lifted a Fenton Thermos. She uncapped it and hit the button, sucking up the screaming ghost with a grin before slapping the lid back on. Compared to what could have happened if Desiree had been able to keep supporting Adam while Caleb was still willing to act on his urgings, the battle with her alone had been laughably easy.

"I didn't have those adventures with Caleb that showed me how he really was compared to Mithos, and I only have the textbook to tell me how Mithos was." Danny pointed out as he continued fighting off the urge to pass out, "And I haven't finished reading that, either. Been kinda busy." He started gathering what little ectoplasm he had left for another blast. "But I promised I'd be his friend, and I'm sticking by that promise!" he declared, "You're gonna have to go through **me** if you want to take my place as his friend again!" The android shifted his gaze to him, surprised expression on his face. Genis gulped, glancing over at Wren worriedly. The chef pulled the cloak tighter around himself, watching Caleb with a wistful expression. Danny huffed and fired the Ghost Ray, the ring flashing back into view and transforming him into Fenton form once more as he grabbed for one of the deeper cuts on his arm, putting on pressure to stop the bleeding. That was it; he just didn't have enough ectoplasm in him to change again and that was going to be his last Ghost Ray for now. He glanced past Caleb and Adam quickly, just to be sure that Jazz and the others were doing what he said and staying as far from the battlefield as possible. Or rather, keep Valerie far from them, as his plan required he lose the ability to keep himself as Danny Phantom for a while.

Adam lashed out with the Wonder Fork, batting the blast aside with a laugh. "Was that it? _Really?_ I was expecting the entrée and you give me the appetizer!" he jeered, spinning the fork in one hand lazily, "Caleb, I thought you said he was stronger than this!"

"..." Caleb made a faint sound of non-committal, shrugging carelessly. He wasn't facing either of them now, hair falling forward to shadow his eyes and hide his expressions.

"If Caleb hadn't drained out so much of my power, you'd see me really cooking!" Danny shot back. Now was the time; he had to goad Adam into showing he didn't have the same love for life Wren did.

"Again with the food puns." the redhead muttered flatly.

"Well, Adam? You want Caleb's full attention, right? As long as I'm his Raven, there's no room for the Wren!" Danny went on tauntingly, "Oh, wait, that's right; you're not _allowed_ to kill me. You _need_ me to be around." He laughed at the annoyed expression growing on the other blonde's face, "Hah! You can't even **scratch** me! That's probably why you've got Caleb doing all your dirty work for you! Some friend you turned out to be! At least he knows _Resurrection_! That should give you a freebie card!" He crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue childishly before going on. "So come on! I _dare_ you to try anything yourself, ya big chicken!" Danny exclaimed, throwing his arms out to show he was leaving himself completely vulnerable, "Let's see it from the so-called Reborn Wonder Chef, the guy called Adam Voraci, if that **really** is your name...! Let me see you cast it, the Wonder Chef's spell; cast _Incineration_!"

Caleb's head jerked up in surprise, staring first at Danny before looking over at the thoroughly irritated Adam.

"That spell's too five-star for you." the blonde growled, halting the spin of the fork and hefting it up like a spear, "Caleb can revive you later; I'm teaching you a lesson right now!" And with a yell, Adam hurled the giant utensil forward, letting it fly straight for Danny Fenton as the two Heroes on either side of him threw up their shields to protect themselves.

Danny braced himself for the hit, flinching away at the sight of the large metal prongs coming straight at him. There was a split-second where he thought of how much it was going to hurt to have those things sticking into him, and then it dawned on him that it was taking an awful long time for that fork to reach him. Hesitantly, Danny cracked open one eye to see where it went before he opened them both wide in shock.

Caleb stood before him with a grim expression on his face, one hand gripping the Wonder Fork's handle tightly, its prongs just millimeters away from stabbing into Danny's chest. The halfa squeaked and Caleb softened his expression into a meek grin. "Sorry for falling for Nebilim's trick so easily." the android murmured, "It's just that... it's been so long since I've seen Wren, I really wanted to believe he'd come back to me." Danny nearly collapsed in relief, but settled for letting some of his tension to leak out.

"Finally, you get the idea that Adam's a fake!" he breathed out tiredly, "I figured this was the best way to show you. The real Wonder Chef would never willingly kill someone, right? An illusion can't love life like the real thing." Caleb smiled tightly, nodding in agreement.

"That was so typical of him, yes; got him into more trouble than we could handle sometimes, too. But this attack was just the clincher." he returned and looked a bit glum, "I was suspicious from the start, but I couldn't stop myself from letting the illusion take me over. Voraci isn't his real last name, but I can't remember what it was. And for some reason, I kept feeling like it was horribly wrong when he said he made the Ultimate Recipe recently." He shook his head. "Anyways, I'm sorry for everything that's happened, but I know now that my place is with you; at least until we're out of here. Will you take me back into your party?"

"Without a doubt." Danny agreed with a weak smile, "Since you're the one with healing spells." Caleb nodded and spun on his heel, spinning the fork before himself as he faced the infuriated fake chef before them.

_"Root of all creation, grant us the breath of life! Revitalize!"_ the android called out and lifted the fork as the massive healing circle of light and runes passed over the field, restoring Team Phantom and their companions to full health. Danny breathed a sigh of relief and tried to gather the strength to transform again, only to look dismayed when the ring he called up flickered and went out.

"Agh! I don't have enough ectoplasm yet!" he cried and looked up at the rest of his friends running towards them to regroup. He had told them the signal for them to come back would be Caleb's healing spell working on them from a distance. He figured a healing spell wouldn't work on enemies, so if it did, then it would obviously mean that Caleb had turned away from the fake and rejoined their side. If they got back before he could change, Valerie would see him as Danny Fenton and there was no way he could squirm out of **that** one by blaming Nebilim's illusions again.

"How **dare** you?" Adam screamed in rage, blue eyes now a fierce crimson, glowing inhumanly bright. Danny ducked behind Caleb almost instinctively, looking up in surprise when he bumped into Wren, who had done the same. The chef gave him a sheepish smile.

"Sorry. Old habit." he whispered, "Anytime something big and nasty came at us, I liked to hide behind Caleb and let him deal with it. He's good at that."

And he was; the android spun the fork before himself again, gearing up for another spell while Adam shrieked on, his voice strangely low and hoarse... and oddly familiar. _"You miserable fools! And you of the line of the land of the living and dead... wasting my efforts to sway the Fallen Angel...! If not for the fact I still have need of your body, I'd kill you where you stand now, cowering behind that ancient doll with the half-elf and that blasted chef!"_ the blonde bellowed.

"Waah! That's Nebilim's voice! What's he doing, standing there and looking like Adam?" Genis cried in shock. Caleb's wings flared out suddenly, Wren yelping in surprise and hugging Danny as he and the half-elf stared at the red mana shooting out of the android's back, the magic circle vanishing abruptly. "Caleb? You've got wings? When did **that** happen?" Genis added.

"Modifications. Raven! Don't move!" Caleb ordered sharply as Jazz, Sam, Valerie and Tucker finally reached them. The Goth had scooped up the dagger he had tossed aside in his high-speed dash to halt the Wonder Fork's flight and now held it ready for attack as she and Jazz both took stances close to Caleb's wings to further shield Danny from view.

"That voice we just heard, isn't that Nebilim?" Jazz exclaimed, eyes wide, "Oh, that's it! That's why Caleb got duped by his mana reading! Nebilim's put himself into the illusion; he's got a similar enough signature to Adam that masking it with the illusion created a perfect replica of the real one!"

_"If you believe your knowledge of my illusion will be of any help to you here, you are sorely mistaken!"_ Nebilim hissed, throwing a hand up to vanish in a blast of black smoke, _"There is no escaping this level without turning over my intended vessel!"_ The group of teens and Heroes looked around themselves warily, uncertain of where he had gone before looking up when they heard his voice boom down from above. _"This level's Trial symbol will only be revealed with the sacrifice of the Fallen Angel's treasure!"_

Danny and Wren both looked at each other in concern as Nebilim's voice laughed cruelly above them, leaving the group to turn to Caleb in shock and catch the anguished expression on his face at that ultimatum.


	42. Chapter 42

A/N: Things have been really really slow lately. Life in the way, y'know? Also, my current beta-reader is getting burnt out on checking this fic over for me, so if anyone wants to volunteer to take over, uh... drop me a line? Maybe?

* * *

42

The team sat in a loose circle around the self-cooking pot, munching slowly on sandwiches as they considered the situation. Every now and then, one of them would look over at Caleb, who sat a little further from the rest of the group in a lotus position, wings still spread to form a wall. Behind him, Wren and Danny Fenton sat together, sharing the cloak with their backs to the android. Somehow, perhaps because of Nebilim's twisted version of the Wonder Chef's mana or because Danny still hadn't gathered enough ectoplasm to change back into his Phantom alter-ego and so masked the young man's mana, Caleb had not picked up on the fact that his Wren, the **real** Wren, was sitting back to back with him. The android had gone silent and stayed that way since Nebilim declared that his Trial symbol wouldn't appear until he 'sacrificed his treasure', and that had been an hour ago.

"Man, this sucks worse than when Vlad swiped the Infi-Map from me because I was dumb enough to not give it back when Sam said to." Danny muttered in a sulking tone, huddled under his half of the cloak. Wren huddled beside him, arms hugging his legs. He gave the halfa a puzzled look and Danny smiled weakly in return. "Never mind. We should worry about what to do with this new mess." he amended, "Caleb's Trial symbol needs him to give me up so it will appear and he can face his sin. But we know he won't do that; he'll keep us trapped here in order to protect me, but that'll give Nebilim time to regain some energy and start kidnapping people from Amity Park again!"

The blonde glanced away, thinking in silence before blinking and biting his lip, shaking his head. Danny gave him a curious look and Wren took his hand, turning it over and writing in his palm with a fingertip. His face went blank when he felt the ornate curves and lines that told him these weren't English letters being traced out. Wren noticed, looked sheepish and started again, and this time Danny could recognize words being written out. Why was he writing... oh. If he spoke while this close to Caleb, even in whispers, the android would instantly pick up the sound of his voice and recognize him; whether he would now believe that this was the real Wren or another fake was up in the air.

"'You... are... not... his... only... treasure...'" Danny murmured and looked up in time to see the blonde point to himself with a small smile. "Oh, that's right. But there's no way that'll happen either." Wren held out his own hand and Danny wrote into it with his own finger. _'You're his treasure too, Wren. If he's not going to give **me** up, there's no way in hell he'll let **you** get sacrificed. What are we going to do?'_ He looked up at the blonde and Wren gave him a faintly crestfallen expression, shrugging. He started writing into Danny's palm again.

"'I don't... know... right... now... Let me... think... about... it.'" Danny read softly and froze when Caleb's wings fluttered.

"Figures Martel would send Raine in to help deal with this." the android muttered testily, "What, you couldn't be bothered to cast a healing spell in my place? Or did Martel seal your voice so you couldn't use magic as extra incentive for me to come back to Raven?" He sighed, oblivious to the wide-eyed looks the two behind him were sharing under the safety of Sam's cloak. "Sorry, I didn't mean to listen in on you." Caleb apologized softly, "If you're able to change, Raven, please do so. I think... I want to go on Standby for now, try and get some rest and let my processes work on sorting out this mess I got us in."

Wren nodded in silence and Danny experimentally tried to summon up the ring, exhaling in relief at seeing it appear steadily around his middle. "Yeah, I'm good. Go ahead, Caleb. R-Raine and I will stand guard over the others." the halfa returned, grinning widely at the young man beside him trying to hold his laughter back with one hand, cheeks puffing out from the effort.

"No offense, Raine, but _please_ let Raven do the cooking. ...If I have to resurrect someone because of food poisoning again..." the android muttered, trailing off as his wings shut down and folded back with its usual clink-clink-clink of metal on metal. Danny let the ring finish transforming him, feeling a bit shy about yelling 'Goin' Ghost!' right next to the Wonder Chef and so decided not to, then twisted around to see how Caleb was doing. The redhead had his eyes closed, despite still sitting perfectly upright.

"Hello~?" Danny called out into his ear, "Caleb, I'm about to go digging around in your pack and mess with your notes." No response. Huh, usually that got him a glare. "I'm gonna put purple satay in beef stew!" Wren gasped, pulling his hand away to give him a warning glare in Caleb's place.

"Don't you dare!" he whispered before slapping his hand back over his mouth, his visible eye wide with alarm as it shot to watch for a response from the android. Caleb didn't even twitch, and Danny felt moderately better. "Wow, I thought he'd hear me for sure." the chef remarked in surprise, getting to his feet, "In the past, I just had to _sound_ stressed and he'd snap out of Standby to see what was bothering me." He looked thoughtful, then reached out and grabbed Danny's hand again, turning it palm-up. The tingling feeling didn't bother him as much now, having spent so long in close proximity to the chef. Danny just had a faint numbness to it now, his interest in what Wren would be writing about that he could just say out loud. The blonde looked at him seriously, fingertip hovering over his palm. "Promise me that you will whisper this in his ear and never say it out loud, not unless it is the most extreme emergency." he said quietly and Danny nodded, puzzled.

Satisfied with that, Wren traced out words into the halfa's palm. Danny focused on the writing, trying to commit it to memory. _'Dream... some... good... dreams... Caleb... What the heck is that? ...Wait... is this Caleb's Sleep Mode phrase? Is that why he said not to say it out loud?'_ He gulped, suddenly feeling none too sure about that promise of his. On the one hand, it wasn't exactly a common phrase, not likely to slip out in normal conversation. On the other, now that he had this bit of power over Caleb, could he really hold back from accidentally using it at the wrong moment?

"Oh, man." Danny groaned aloud and Wren looked up at him sharply.

"Was I wrong in trusting this to you?" he whispered. The ghost boy felt like he was sweating rivers as he pulled on a smile that seemed more like a grimace in his own head.

"No, but that's not gonna stop me from worrying about it anyway." he returned, "I have this thing about having too much power for my own good..." The chef raised an eyebrow, smirking suddenly.

"Do you plan on abusing this phrase?" he asked and Danny shook his head quickly.

"No way! Just because I'm afraid of power doesn't mean I'm going to give in and use it for no good reason." he shot back, feeling affronted, "My friends would help keep me grounded so I won't slip."

"That's all I need to know. Now put Caleb to sleep so I can start cooking."

Silence reigned over the teens by the campfire as they tried to wrap their minds around the knowledge that Caleb had once been Mithos, despite all his claims that he was nothing like the mad angel. There had been tiny instances during their journey, sparse and rare but still there, where Caleb hadn't quite sounded like himself. The only thing anyone could recall about them was that they all appeared when the android was angry about something, especially concerning discrimination or taking someone precious away from him. Were those the last lingering traces of who Mithos had been, or a sign that Caleb could turn at any time?

"Can I take this off now? It kinda clashes with my style." Genis remarked dryly, tugging at the Specter Deflector still clasped around his waist. Sam sighed and turned in place to work on getting it unclasped, Jazz taking her place in watching the three who sat afar. She breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted the familiar ring of light that meant her brother was changing back to Phantom form.

"Man, what are we gonna do now?" Tucker sighed, gazing at his laptop screen without really seeing anything there, "Ever since my level, all the Trial symbols have been hidden or disguised or just made plain hard to get to! This is the first time we have to actually _pay_ for it to appear!" He frowned. "And I'm pretty sure Nebilim's not gonna give us a discount." he added and blinked as the windows connecting the laptop to Caleb all suddenly hiccuped, some graphs flat-lining for a few moments. Next to him, Valerie burst into laughter, one hand over her mouth as she tried to hold it back and Jazz face-palmed in silence. The others looked up to see what was making the huntress giggle, and gave Danny a flat glare when they saw the android had fallen forward in an awkward manner, face down on the floor and back bent in a painful-looking arch over legs still folded in lotus position. Danny looked a little sheepish and Wren gave them a wide-eyed innocent look.

"Which one of you should I hit first?" Sam remarked in an unimpressed tone, arms folding over her chest, "The dead one or the mostly dead one?"

"Okay, that right there tells me he **can't** be Mithos." Valerie managed to say with a smirk, "Even out of his little half-elf mind, you can't picture some super-powerful angel just flopping onto his face because of a couple of punks."

"Adam! Did you put him to sleep?" Genis scolded, "Martel should have called you back by now; you know Caleb's not allowed to know you're here."

"He thinks I'm Raine, so don't blow it for me, okay?" the blonde muttered, joining the group at the campfire with Danny at his side, who snorted and started snickering behind his hand again. Sam gave him a puzzled look as Wren rolled his eyes with a grin and went on, "And I'm still disconnected from Martel. Sure as sugar, I won't be able to leave until the Trial's been defeated."

"I agree." Jazz added with a nod, watching her brother and the chef start work on putting together a soup, "The fake Adam said he was the master of the level, so it's a good possibility that he's the pre-Trial form. If he disconnected the real Adam from Martel, that break may stay in effect until he becomes the Trial and is defeated."

"How long is Caleb gonna be asleep?" Tucker asked, leaning to one side to look around Danny at the redhead.

"I guess until we wake him up or nine hours pass, whichever comes first." Danny returned, putting out a hand to stop Wren from picking out a selection of beef to put into the soup, "No meat in this, Sam won't eat it. Make it separate for Tucker; he won't eat vegetables if he can help it." Turning away from Wren's surprised expression, he refocused on the techno-geek. "Why ask?"

"Because I've been looking at every angle I can with Caleb's systems and there's nothing I can see that could make his Special Arte gauge go up!" Tucker exclaimed in exasperation, gesturing towards his laptop screen. Danny moved to his side and sat down, peering at the screen himself and trying to make sense of all the windows and graphs and scrolling text. There was one that looked like an expanded version of the little status screen in Tucker's PDA, and the red line very nearly filled the gauge in that window. Danny scratched his head, confused. Tucker was right; how was Caleb getting that gauge charged when he hadn't been casting a lot of spells and he barely had any damage? On top of that, he wasn't in any Over-Limit Modes, and as far as Danny knew the only Special Artes Caleb could use were only available while in one of the three modes.

"If he's been cooking, that would charge it too." Genis remarked suddenly, eyes blinking with wide and childlike innocence, "Has he used an Arte before?"

"Yeah. _Shining Bind_. Freakiest thing I've ever seen. Caleb is _obsessed_ with swords." Sam told him dryly, "But he's been doing most of the cooking since we first set foot in this Book. Why hasn't he been throwing out Special Artes earlier?"

"Cooking only charges the gauge a little, and it drains a little when he relaxes after stressful situations." the half-elf told her, "So it might have been at a standstill for a while. When he used _Shining Bind_, it reset his gauge. If he's been cooking again, it would start charging as well." He frowned suddenly, rubbing his hand against his head and muttering to himself, "That means he was in Avenger Mode, which means the role of 'precious treasure' has been recast; **that's** not good news."

"Didn't you tweak Caleb's systems to make it think he was getting damage when he wasn't?" Valerie asked of Tucker with a puzzled tone, "That way he would build up for an Over-Limit Mode without being in danger of being taken out? Would that have done something to his Special Arte gauge too?" He shrugged, looking a bit lost as he tapped at the keys. "So then, what's the Special if he's not in an Over-Limit Mode?"

"It doesn't say." he replied and spun the laptop to show her, "Just says 'Spell Locked', and I don't think that's a spell name."

"Fudge!" Wren suddenly hissed, one hand clapping over his eyes, "I knew I forgot to leave my pendant for him!" Genis gave him a lidded look.

"Kinda hard to remember your to-do list when you were busy dying back then." he remarked sarcastically.

"I'm sorry, but did you just say the word 'fudge' as a swear word?" Jazz butted in, flabbergasted by the dialogue, "Really? _Fudge?_ Is this food-puns-as-standard-vocabulary a Wonder Chef thing or is it a neurological disorder for you?" He just rolled his eyes at her and stood up.

"Danny, I'm leaving the soup in your care. I'm going to go unlock Caleb's last Special Arte." the blonde told him, "Since the original method of doing it was lost with me when I died, I'm going to have to manually release the lock." He shifted his gaze. "Tucker, I believe your name is, would you please come with me and bring that device with you? If you're able to connect to Caleb with it, it should be enough to do what I need it to."

"Um, sure?" Tucker returned in surprise, gathering up the laptop and hurrying to follow the Wonder Chef as he walked off to deal with the android. Sam watched them leave, then turned inward, a frown on her face as she thought over something that had bothered her for a while now. Namely, the symbolism of the ship's name and insignia. The _FireBlossom_ had been named for a mana beast companion that Caleb had treated like a daughter, and the insignia was probably what she had looked like. The green and gold decorations on the insignia had sparked her memory of the green sash and the brass bell stashed in Caleb's box of personal effects, along with the ribbons and gems.

What happened to her? What was her story?

"Hey, Genis?" she finally questioned thoughtfully, "Do you know about Peppermint Fireblossom?" The half-elf gave her a confused look, nodding slowly. "Can you tell me when she died? Or how? Caleb has her bell and sash in a keepsake box."

"Sorry, I wasn't alive at that time." Genis returned sadly, turning his gaze downward at his hands resting in his lap, "And Martel hid that information from us as well. All I know for certain is that when she died, Caleb agreed to be put under the spell to seal his heart, creating his perfect neutrality." He blinked, then looked back up at the Goth. "Does he still have the Summon Spirit Gems? Pepper used to wear them in her bell to manipulate the other mana Elements so she could keep Caleb charged." Sam nodded and Genis hummed thoughtfully. "I'm going to talk to Sheena and ask if it's alright for him to still have those." he decided absently, "Caleb can't summon, but it's still a bit worrisome that he kept Mithos's pact gems."

The teens watched as the young half-elf took on a distant expression, then went back to studying Danny as he worked on the soup with a grim look on his face. For that moment, everyone felt the same as the boy ghost. This level was definitely dragging some very old and very disturbing things to light about their red-haired guide. Although they all agreed to some degree that Caleb wasn't Mithos actively, there were still varying levels of distrust and unease. Too much was still unknown, and even asking the Heroes of Union wasn't helping; they didn't have all the information either.

Tucker and Wren returned after a few minutes and sat with the group again, the technophile grinning broadly as he held his laptop close to his chest. "Dudes, Adam is wicked with a keyboard! He was flying through programs and even made some more modifications to Caleb's systems software!" he exclaimed proudly, "I can remote set which spells he can use in the Over-Limit Modes now and he won't crash if I try that false damage data trick again!"

"That's great and all, but what about that last Special Arte? Is it unlocked now?" Danny asked, moving back to let Wren take over the cooking again.

"Yes. It's one that I had my mother help me develop and then programmed it into him only a month before I died." the chef returned and nodded with a satisfied grin at the contents of the pot, "This is cooking quite well! I wonder if you're one of my descendants, Danny..."

"Probably not." Jazz butted in before the boy could open his mouth to answer. She gave him a warning glare, then smiled widely at the blonde, false innocence radiating off of her. "Danny Phantom just copies what he sees; he's good at that. It's a psychological compulsion to retain his human qualities in an effort to remain on friendly terms with us humans." she added in for good measure. Wren just gave her a blank stare before going back to the pot.

"Back to the problem at hand," Sam decided to fill in the awkward silence and twirled her finger in Caleb's direction, "the problem being that Nebilim's blocked access to the Trial symbol until Caleb does something that sacrifices his precious treasure." Her eyes narrowed slightly as she went on, "And we know for a fact now that he considers you, Danny, and the Wonder Chef over there to be his precious treasures. Now which one of you did Nebilim mean by sacrificing?"

"This would probably be easier if he wasn't so attached to the Spook." Valerie grumbled, stretching one leg in front of her to ease a few cramps, "Then all we'd have to do is make up some story about how Caleb's given up on Adam and that should be enough." Danny jerked his head up at that, eyes narrowing as his mind raced over the words. Attached to him... sacrificing a precious treasure... Did that treasure **have** to be a person?

"Wren, triggering Caleb's Avenger Mode means his precious treasure has to be in danger, right?" he asked slowly, picking through his memories until he hit upon the one that had bothered him so long ago. The chef glanced at him uncertainly and shrugged.

"I would think so. I mean, he's only ever done it when something happened to me." the blonde returned, "And you guys said he did it when Valerie's Trial had taken most of you down, Danny Phantom included. So I assume it triggered because of his bond to you."

Danny bit the nail of his thumb through his glove, considering the memory he had in mind. There hadn't been a bond back then; Caleb kept to himself and kept him somewhat at a distance, and Danny himself had some distrust about the redhead, what with all the information he kept hiding. And yet, back in Tucker's level, way before he held out a hand and offered to be Caleb's friend for real, the android had gone into Avenger Mode and demolished a steel pike. Why?

Oh, that's right. He'd already asked him. What was it Caleb said? His precious treasure was the fact that Danny Fenton had ectomana that matched the Wonder Chef? So, if Caleb's precious treasure wasn't Danny himself, but his ectomana, could this change how the situation was turning out to be?

"What if it's not a person?" he finally remarked slowly, carefully, trying to think it all out. It was hard, this was like one of Vlad's chess games; the answer was there but he had to think in different ways, two steps ahead or something snobby like that. He looked up to see all eyes in his direction. All except for Genis, who was still looking dazed while he chatted with someone else through Martel. "Back in Tucker's level, Caleb went Avenger and chopped some steel pike into bits. We weren't even really friends back then, either." Danny explained.

His friends looked surprised, glancing at one another before giving him confused expressions. Wren just frowned, folding his arms over his chest as he looked back over at Caleb's still slumped form.

"Why'd he do that? And when? I don't remember him ever going all psycho-killer-robot-angel back there." Sam remarked incredulously, "Would have been seriously handy if he had."

"You guys were asleep at the time, Caleb was standing watch and I went to mess with his head for a bit." Danny admitted, wincing when Wren gave him a sharp glare for that, "Sorry. I just wanted him to open up a little, y'know? So I could get a better read off him? So, I floated over a steel pike and asked what he'd do if I dropped onto it without going intangible." Jazz and Sam both gasped sharply, hands covering their mouths in alarm as Tucker let out a low whistle, shaking his head. Danny sighed harshly, feeling worse for saying that already. "Yeah, I know. Stupid idea, I've already beaten myself up for it, okay?" he grumbled, "Anyway, just to tease him, I dropped altitude a little, just enough to look like I was actually gonna let myself fall on it, and the next thing I know..." He shot a hand into the air abruptly in demonstration. "He's off like a shot in that black outfit with the white wings, swinging this giant red axe around."

"That's Avenger Mode all right." Wren muttered, "Putting aside the fact that you tried to scramble his brain like so many eggs, why would Caleb activate it if you weren't friends?"

"He said it was to protect my ectomana." Danny replied, arms folding as he sulked, still trying to wrap his mind around it all, "Because it was a high match to yours." Wren's eyes widened, one hand going up to his mouth in surprise. "Maybe, all the other times he went Avenger for us, it was for that same reason?"

"Gosh, are you the only thing in his head or something?" Jazz griped at the blonde, hands on her hips as she got up to scowl at the android not far from them, "It's so obsessive, it's bordering on psychopathic stalking! That's not healthy! Especially for someone with as much power as Caleb's got!"

"That's the same kind of obsession Mithos had with his sister..." Sam muttered and flinched when Wren snapped at her.

"He's not Mithos!" the blonde yelled then forcibly calmed himself, switching off the pot before the soup could overcook, "But you're also right. This isn't good. Why would he latch onto a mana match for me if he swore he'd never make me an angel?" He scratched at his head, muttering to himself in Italian again.

"I'm back." Genis suddenly remarked, looking around at the grim faces of the teens, "Whoa, what happened? Somebody die on us or something?"

"Caleb's precious treasure wasn't the Ghost Kid after all." Valerie told him, giving the android a distrustful glare, "It was his ecto-something... ectomana. He's been gung-ho on protecting **that** because he matches the Wonder Chef. So far, we have no clue why."

Genis opened his mouth to speak, freezing in place when Wren pointed right at him with a scowl on his face. "If you even mention Mithos in what you're about to say, I'm going to beat you within an inch of your afterlife." he growled, and Genis's mouth clapped shut.

"You're really not at all as sweet and pure as Caleb says, aren't ya?" Tucker remarked with a half-hearted grin, growing a little wider at the blonde's reply of 'I never told him I was like that anyway.'

"I was **gonna** say that if Danny's not the actual treasure, then we might be able to sacrifice Caleb's wanting to preserve that ectomana and get around Nebilim's little trap." the half-elf shot back grouchily, "After all, the only reason Caleb would care about his signature is because it matches yours. So if we got him to stop caring that it's a match, it'll be a sacrifice." Jazz shook her head, lifting up both hands as though to stop that train of thought.

"That's not going to work. Danny's ectomana is important to Caleb because it's connected to Adam." she pointed out, then blinked as though realizing something vital, "That's it! We'd have to break the connection between Caleb and Adam in order to break the one with Danny! That would be counted as sacrificing his most precious treasures!"

Danny sighed and took the opportunity to fall back, splaying his arms out and blowing a short gust of air through the fringe of his hair. And there was the problem all over again. Caleb would never give up on Wren; the chef was just too much a part of the android's thinking process. There had to be another way to disconnect them without separating them any further. To sacrifice them without actually giving them up.

What if there was a different reason Caleb would go all Avenger for Wren? Like the reason he did for Danny was because of his ectomana, not himself as a person?

_'Ouch. That thought hurts anyway.'_ Danny squeezed his eyes shut, then gave a little grunt as he hoisted himself back up to sitting position again. "Hey, Wren. What was going on when Caleb went Avenger on you?" he suddenly asked. Genis flinched, drawing suspicious looks from Sam, Jazz and Valerie, but the Wonder Chef only rolled his eyes upward, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Huh, there weren't a lot of times he did it for me, since we were friends long before the Over-Limit Systems were installed in him by Huron." the blonde replied slowly, "But every time it went off, it was because I was in serious trouble or danger. Bad enough that even _Incineration_ couldn't get me out of it." He made a face, grimacing slightly. "I hated those times. I always felt so useless then, and knowing that it was because of me that Caleb would become so cold and heartless..." He shivered and gave the redhead a sad look. "He'd snap out of it once I grabbed his hand or called his name."

Danny rubbed at his chin, a considering look on his face. So, Caleb didn't always have the Avenger Mode to fall into when Wren was in trouble? "What about before it got installed? Would he have done something like go avenging angel on someone if you were in trouble?" he went on.

"Where are you going with this?" Jazz demanded of her brother, raising an eyebrow when the ghost boy lifted a finger to his lips to shush her. Across from him, Wren had closed his eyes in concentration, mouth pursed into a thin line as he searched his own memory.

"When we first met, when the Dark Chefs tried to use me to summon an ancient evil spirit, Caleb berserked on the whole Alliance in order to restore my soul. He nearly died then; DuGorge managed to puncture his single Mana Crystal System and destroyed it. This was back before Altessa upgraded him to use the Tri-Crystal System." he spoke carefully, slowly, trying to get events out in proper order, "For the whole time I was with him, I thought he was human. When he confessed that he wasn't, I was furious with him for what I thought was him lying to me for months on end. I told him I didn't want to be friends with him, and pretty much ignored him for the short time were were prisoners."

"But he still went ballistic to save you?" Danny asked in surprise, eyes wide. Wren nodded, looking a little ashamed of himself.

"When he was repaired and I asked him why he did it, why he risked himself for me, he put it pretty simply. Simple enough, it almost sounded like Lloyd said it to him." the chef remarked, glancing over at the sleeping android with a smile, "He said, 'Even if you say I'm not your friend, in my mind you're still mine. And I won't let anything take my friend from me, not even you.'" He shrugged. "I made up with him after that and we became friends again. The next time he berserked for me was when a wyvern threw me across a cave -almost broke my back in that one-, and after I told him about _Incineration_, he stopped doing it up until..." Wren rubbed his head in thought, then snapped his fingers, brightening. "After he got the Over-Limits installed! He went Savior Mode to snap me out of that Cruxis Crystal mind control, and when the Angels of Vinhelm tried to drag me into the transfer chamber, he went Avenger and destroyed the whole room because he thought I couldn't use the spell without the Wonder Fork!"

The teens stared at him collectively and the chef just looked around at them all, blinking dumbly. "What?" he asked, confused, and looked more perplexed when the group hung their heads with a sigh of exasperation.

"Well, least we know why it goes off for you." Danny sighed, "It's your friendship that Caleb's protecting, not you yourself. I mean, look at you!" He gestured at the somewhat translucent spirit for emphasis. "You're **dead**! And Caleb would still go psycho to protect you!" Jazz gave a little victory cry, pounding a fist into her open hand.

"Ah hah! So then all we have to do is convince Caleb to sever his friendship with Adam and that should complete the sacrifice! We don't have to give up the **people**, just the bonds to them!" she exclaimed brightly.

"Good luck with that." Genis told her dryly, lifting his hands in that little shrug again as he shook his head, "Everything he does is completely for Adam's sake. The only way he could break that bond is if he does something that makes him believe he doesn't even deserve to think that Adam could be his friend."

Danny grimaced as the others nodded and agreed that their theory was the best way to go about 'sacrificing' Caleb's treasures without actually losing them. Sneaking a glance up at Wren gave him the sight of a similar expression of distaste on the chef's own face. Both of them weren't feeling too good about finding those loopholes, but it was either that, or give Nebilim exactly what he wanted.

Wren lifted the hood of the cloak and pulled it over his head again, drawing the fabric more tightly around himself. He met Danny's gaze, then tilted his head in Caleb's direction. The halfa grimaced again; he didn't want to wake him up. Not when the guy was gonna be told that he'd have to sacrifice his friendship with the Wonder Chef in order to reveal his Trial symbol.

Still, almost against his will, Danny got to his feet and walked with heavy, sluggish steps towards the sleeping android. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Wren stand and move around the chattering group in order to make himself less conspicuous. Trying -and failing- to swallow the lump in his throat, the halfa knelt down and put a hand on Caleb's head. Like he was trying to give some comfort to the redhead before tossing him to the wolves, or something.

"Good morning, Caleb." he finally said.

"Welcome. Please state your business." the android returned in the same flat tone as ever. Then he gave a little jerk in surprise and raised his head, blinking at Danny as he slowly rose to sitting position again. Danny let his hand fall away and Caleb watched the motion, a puzzled expression on his face. "Why did you have your hand on my head?" he asked, then shook himself off, "No, never mind. How did I fall asleep? **That's** what I'm more interested in."

"Don't worry about it." Danny told him, then went quiet, looking back over his shoulder at the still arguing teens surrounding the forgotten pot of soup. "Listen. We've all been talking and trying to piece things together, and we think we've found a way to have you make a sacrifice without actually losing me." he began softly and lifted his shoulders as though to hide within himself. Did he really want to do this? Tell Caleb to give up his friendship with his best friend just so they could keep moving in this stupid Book?

Danny thought it over a few moments more, fully aware that the android was watching him, waiting for his point. Finally, he took a deep breath, and made his decision on what to say. "You once told me that I was a precious treasure to you because of my ectomana, how it matches Wren's mana and junk. Remember?" Caleb nodded slowly, watching him cautiously as though expecting some kind of backlash. "Well, we think that if you stop caring about my ectomana, then maybe it'll count as a sacrifice and it'll reveal the Trial symbol." There. Go with the less painful of two cruelties.

The android was silent for a long while, staring at Danny's face until the boy fidgeted uncomfortably under the scrutiny.

"Someone was accessing my personal systems." Caleb finally murmured and the halfa blinked up at him in surprise, startled by the change in subject. The redhead seemed to muse on it, eyes lowered and glittering thoughtfully before lifting to meet Danny's own glowing green ones. "I can't just ignore your ectomana, Raven. The match is there, I know it already; it's in several of my personal memory files." he remarked dully, "And I..."

He let the sentence hang, shifting in place until he knelt before the halfa as well, hands lifted so he could look at them with a more serious expression. Danny could have sworn he was actually glaring at his own hands, like he **hated** them, or something. How weird.

Abruptly, the android let out a breath of air and slapped his hands down onto his thighs before pushing himself up to his feet. "All right then!" Caleb declared, walking back to the other teens as they looked up at him in surprise, "Raven's already given me the gist of what you guys want, and logically, it seems sound enough to work." He sat down with them, once again ignoring the black-draped Wren that huddled by Genis in order to encourage the illusion of being Raine. "By severing my bond with Danny Phantom due to his ectomana, it will be akin to sacrificing my precious treasure." the redhead went on, eyes closing as he made his announcement, so he was oblivious to the collective glare given to said halfa as he joined them as well. Danny gave a weak smile and shrug. Had they **really** expected him to tell Caleb to abandon his friendship with Wren?

"Because the records of his unique signature are scattered throughout various parts of my personal memory and archival memory, I'm going to have to undergo the procedure to eliminate the connections between him and Wren." the android went on and opened his eyes when Tucker gave an alarmed cry.

"You're going to delete your personal memories?" he blurted out in realization, "That's what you mean! Guys! What did we do?" Sam and Danny both started to rise in equal alarm, already crying out for him to stop. Caleb simply shook his head, closed his eyes and went abruptly still.

That was when the Wonder Chef snatched the laptop from Tucker's grasp again, opening it and typing rapidly to get back into the android's systems.

"I keep _telling_ you people to stop breaking him. I left him with the idea of protecting the world and all the lives on it and he can't **do** that if a bunch of kids can convince him to turn his brain into Swiss cheese!" he growled as Tucker bent to watch him work. Ghost and Goth were busy trying to shake Caleb out of rigidity, unable to make him budge even a bit. Jazz looked torn between what her brother was doing and what was happening on the laptop, while Valerie and Genis gave each other worried expressions. This wasn't something either of them had experience in; what was happening now?

"What are you doing?" Tucker asked, trying to keep up with the flow of data Wren seemed to be throwing at the various windows. Almost as soon as one file tried to be deleted, the Wonder Chef would snag it, make a copy and stash it into a separate section of the android's own filing system, like he'd carved out a little niche in Caleb's brain for his own use.

"What's it look like? Rescuing his memories!" the blonde muttered softly, eyes glancing up to be sure he wasn't heard, "I'm going to alter them and then put them back." He scowled fiercely, "I am **not** letting him do this to himself again!"

His actions weren't going unnoticed either. Caleb's face twisted slightly in confusion. One hand lifted to press against his head. Tucker fidgeted excitedly.

"He's trying to speed up! You can't outperform an android's processing speed!" he cried. Wren reached into a pouch at his waist, pulled out a small soup spoon, and threw it over the group with a small curse of annoyance. Genis, Valerie, Jazz and Tucker all followed its arcing course with bemused expressions until it reached its destination, smacking Caleb in the face.

The android's eyes opened in surprise, fingers moving to rub at where he'd been hit, and Wren bent back to his work with a small grin. Caleb's speed dropped abruptly out of shock and the Wonder Chef managed to grab the last of the files before opening them all up and typing rapidly. Tucker watched the screen, tilting his head as various graphs appeared, all displaying the same information; bars of varying length colored green next to bars of gold of nearly similar length and pattern. There were also wavelengths below the bar graphs, two waves of green and gold, also very similar in curvature.

"Green is Danny's ectomana, gold is mine." Wren whispered, typing into a small box in a corner of each file, "I'm changing his record of my mana signature so it doesn't match. If we don't match, he won't care enough about Danny's signature to consider it 'precious'." Tucker watched almost sadly as the bars of gold plunged on the graphs, the gold waves shrinking and stretching to more subtle crests and dips.

"But if you do that, then he won't recognize you when you're reborn." he pointed out.

"Password." Wren muttered, and went on when the techno-geek lapsed into a confused silence, "I'm putting a password on these changes; it's only a temporary alteration. Once you're all out of this Book, just tell him the password and it'll access his memory archive to undo all these changes and he'll have my real mana records again. Right now, he's only calling to the copy of the record he has in his immediate memory; that's the copy I changed."

"And the password is...?" The chef pointed at another box and Tucker read the entry before growing a bit confused. "That's..."

"My real last name."

Tucker stared at the blonde in shock before rolling his eyes in thought and then shrugging. "Well, **that** explains how you were the second Wonder Chef to ever make the Ultimate Recipe." he finally remarked as Wren grinned at his words.

In the end, all the windows were closed, Wren pushed the laptop away from himself and went back into his huddle, and Caleb stiffened in place, eyes wide as they lit up brightly. After a moment of data processing, the glow faded and he pushed both Sam and Danny back.

"What are you doing?" he exclaimed in confusion, "We're supposed to go looking for the Trial symbol after you eat!"

"But Nebilim said you had to sacrifice your precious treasure to reveal where it is!" Sam blurted out and Caleb scowled.

"I'm not giving up Wren! I can't anyway; Martel's got him all sealed up like a prisoner when she was **supposed** to let him be reborn already!" he shot back.

Silence fell over the group as he looked around at them all, growing more confused and flustered by the moment. Finally, Jazz spoke up, a calm albeit puzzled tone in her voice.

"You said you were giving up on Danny's ectomana." she pointed out, "Isn't that what you did? Delete all records of his ectomana?" Caleb gave her a blank look and shook his head.

"What are you talking about? I have his records perfectly intact. And why would they be my precious treasure?" he argued, "I didn't have any interest in modern ghosts until the Book of the Underworld surfaced here in Amity Park."

"He matches the Wonder Chef. Remember?" Sam filled in, equally baffled when Caleb scowled at her.

"No he doesn't! Raven's ectomana is too far into the ghostly range; there's only a thirty-six percent match to Wren." the redhead retorted with a dismissive gesture, "Useless to me in researching how to encourage Wren's reincarnation. How can you possibly think it'd be precious to me?"

The group ducked collectively in alarm as a sudden explosion went off in the distance. Gradually, smoke clouds began drifting over the rows of damaged cylinders as the metal floor rumbled from the shock of the blast. Danny rose into the air, determined look on his face as he clenched his hands into his fists. The sound of the explosion had come from further away, towards the far end of the engineering deck. Ignoring the calls of his friends for him to come back down, the halfa shot higher into the air, passing by the height of the cylinders and the clouds of smoke until he could see over them, see the entire deck from his vantage point.

And there at the furthest end of Engineering, many hundreds of the metal cylinders had been knocked down by the shockwave, flattened and spread out like half a crop circle. Danny traced the semi-circle of destruction to the center point. _'Gotta be the engine itself. Nothing else here could have that kind of destructive force. I guess we're lucky it didn't reach all the way to us?'_ He smiled at his own thoughts, then frowned, fingers rising to rest over his chin as he considered the odd event.

Why did the engine suddenly explode? None of them had been close enough to it to cause any damage. Unless...

"It blew after Caleb said I wasn't his precious treasure." Danny muttered, "So maybe the Trial symbol was hidden in the engine and we managed to fulfill Nebilim's requirement to reveal it?"

_"It was an insolent trick your wretched friends played, but the spell accepted it as valid."_ Nebilim's voice growled into his mind and Danny bared his teeth in sudden anger. He was **really** hating having that guy just barge in and talk to him like that. _"No matter. Once the Fallen Angel realizes the sin he must face, the lot of you will be forever trapped here! And you of the land of the living and dead, you will become my vessel and I will be **free** of this infernal prison to rule the land of the living!"_

Danny ignored the voice and turned in time to see Caleb rise through the dwindling smoke clouds, red wings flapping gently as the android spotted him and came closer, concerned expression on his face.

"Are you okay, Raven?" he asked and the halfa smiled a little. Even if Caleb didn't have that bond to him anymore, the one that let him trigger Avenger Mode, he still thought of him as friend enough to keep calling him by that bird name. That made Danny's earlier thoughts sting less. So what if his ectomana was what Caleb cared most about before this weird change? The guy still thought they were friends, and that's all that really mattered, right?

"I'm good. But I think I know where your Trial symbol is now." the halfa returned and pointed back at the smoking remnants of the engine in the distance, "That blew after you finished talking, and Nebilim spoke to me again. He said your symbol is over there." Caleb followed the direction of his arm and blinked; Danny heard a faint click and tilted his head as the android continued gazing at the distant point. Another blink, another click, and he turned back to the halfa.

"It's too far out of range of even my telescopic vision. I can't see how the situation stands over there." he remarked grimly, "We're going to have to go there ourselves and check it out. If my Trial symbol really is there, then we'll prepare for a fight before I activate it." Danny nodded and the android floated back down, not bothering to look back and make sure the halfa was following him.

As much of a relief as Danny found Caleb's abrupt change from mothering him to be, it was also a bit of a slap as well. How much of the android's protective nature was influenced by the similarities in his ectomana and Wren's mana? His shoulders slumped a little and he gave a little sigh of discontent before jerking in surprise at hearing Caleb's voice again.

"Aren't you coming?" He lifted his head a little to see the redhead hovering head and shoulders over the topmost layer of smoke, that same concerned expression on his face. "Are you **sure** you're okay? You look a little sad. Did something happen up here?" the android pressed and Danny found himself chuckling. Yeah, that was more familiar. Maybe things had changed a little because of what happened to Caleb's memories, but he supposed that some things never would change. Still smiling, Danny dove down into the smoke, flying back to the group with the angelic android following after him.


	43. Chapter 43

43

Team Phantom and company spent their walk to the ruined engine sipping at their soup out of cups. Wren and Genis had no need of the dinner; being spirits, being _dead_, kind of negated the need to eat. Caleb also had no interest in the food, save for making sure it was at Wonder Chef quality before serving it out.

They passed by the rows of fallen cylinders, waving their hands before themselves to brush aside clouds of dust and lingering smoke and the smells of burnt metal and electronics. Caleb walked in the lead, with Danny acting as a guide by shooting up into the air to make sure they stayed on the right track. The two spirits stayed in the far back of the rest of the group in an effort to minimize contact between Wren and Caleb.

There had been a tense few moments during the walk when the android would give the disguised chef a confused stare, as if trying to identify him through the shadows of the hood. His eyes would go out of focus after a bit and he'd shake his head, give Wren a vaguely disconcerted look, clutch the Wonder Fork more tightly to himself and then walk on, ignoring the blonde again.

Tucker had given him a puzzled look and Wren returned it with a weak smile.

"He can't get a good read off my mana. When he picks it up, it conflicts with the modified record and sort of... evaporates. So I'm a blank spot in his sensor field." the chef explained. He'd taken on a faintly sad and wistful expression since making those changes, and Tucker had a hard time looking at him without wanting to cry on the shoulder of the nearest person to him. "I also checked his other sensors. He's put a filter block on my voice, so he can't hear me."

"Why?" Genis asked, head tilted in confusion.

"Probably in retaliation of that fake me. If Nebilim tries to talk to him again using my voice, the filter makes it easy for Caleb to ignore his words." The blonde fell into silence after that, the shadows of Sam's hooded cape hiding his face from them as he continued walking alongside them.

When they finally reached the massive engine, the group of teens couldn't help but stare at the twisted metal that seemed to have blown outward, revealing a pair of giant doors carved from darkened wood and heavy wrought iron. The ornate and delicate curves and lines of the angelic character they'd been searching for were burned into the center of the wood and iron doors. Danny whistled at the Trial symbol's appearance in the midst of the wreckage, floating right up to it to run his fingers over the engravings.

"Okay. Now I'm impressed." Sam remarked with a grin and turned to look over at the android, "Well, Caleb, you know the drill."

Caleb just stared at the door... no, at the symbol, his grip on the Wonder Fork even tighter than before. He tilted his head one way, then the other, then righted himself and glared more ferociously at the carving. The teens looked at one another in confusion before turning back to him.

"Caleb? What does that symbol mean?" Jazz asked carefully, knowing already that she probably wasn't going to like the answer.

"It's a pathetic joke, is what it is." Caleb growled and abruptly spun to turn his back on it, "I'm not doing this."

"Caleb..." Valerie called his name threateningly.

_"I'm not doing it!"_ the android only snapped, not even bothering to look at the teens. Danny felt his stomach drop as he recalled Nebilim's words. Looks like the King of the Underworld had it all planned out again. Whatever that symbol was, it ticked off Caleb enough that he was refusing to activate it. And after all the trouble they'd gone through to get to it, there was no way it was a fake symbol. Nebilim wouldn't have enough energy to pull another trick; not with how expensive this level was.

"What does it even **mean**?" Sam demanded again, fists on her hips as she narrowed her glare at the android.

"It means 'traitor'." Genis's voice sounded unnaturally loud. Danny stiffened, gaze moving over to Caleb in time to see the android tense as well, the fork being pulled almost defensively over himself. "That's the angelic symbol for 'traitor'." the half-elf repeated and shrugged, hands lifting as he shook his head, "All things considered, it fits him rather well... OW!"

Tucker gave a wry grin at the sight of Genis rubbing his head after Wren slapped him for that last remark.

"I don't get it. How can Caleb be a traitor?" Danny protested, throwing his arms out for emphasis as he continued floating before the symbol, "He's the Guardian Angel of Heroes! He's got a Lisa Frank pin that can remake the world whenever he feels like it! If he ever decided to go all 'traitorous fallen angel' on us, we wouldn't even have the time to _blink_, let alone **do** anything about it!" His friends seemed to nod in agreement and he threw his hands up over his head, waving them about in some mockery of a magical gesture. "There's six billion people living on the planet and we're doing a fine job of crapping it up, but that's the **point!**" he went on exclaiming, "Six **billion** people! _Living_ on the planet! With the free will to decide, 'Hey, let's take a massive dump on Nature by chopping down everything that looks like a tree!' while others can say 'Hey, let's try and live longer by _not doing that_!'"

"He's right." Sam agreed, arms folding over her chest as she turned to face the other teens, "Caleb could betray natural evolution and humanity by using the Pin to turn us all into mindless eco-zombies like Undergrowth did, but instead of abusing his power, he's letting us humans choose our own fates. I don't see where he could be a traitor."

"Maybe it's referring to his soul?" Valerie suggested, ignoring the glare directed at her by both Wren and Caleb, "Wasn't Mithos called a traitor for using the Eternal Sword to split the worlds, imprison the Summon Spirits and kill thousands of people in order to create a body for Martel?"

"I'm **not** Mithos!" Caleb snapped harshly and turned to stomp over to a fallen chunk of the engine. Once there, he sat on it and curled his legs up to hug them in a huddle, glaring over his knees at the group.

"Can't you drop that?" Wren added angrily, "He's nothing like Mithos! He'd never do any of the things Mithos did!" Genis snorted as if to dispute his words and earned another slap to the head.

"Hey! Calm down, guys!" Danny blurted, waving his arms around, "Look, we don't know what the symbol means when it connects the word 'traitor' to Caleb. Not until he touches it and we hear what it wants from him." He looked towards the huddled redhead with a pleading expression. "C'mon, Caleb. It can't be as bad as you think, right? I mean, mine was about corruption, and that wasn't so hard to deal with in the end, remember?"

"That's in hindsight, Raven, and your memory's already fading on those events. Mine **never** fades." Caleb griped back, clutching the Wonder Fork in one hand as he kept his arms wrapped around his legs, "And yeah, it **can** be as bad as I think. I do a **lot** of thinking. Pretty much all I do since Symphonia's age ended is think."

"That's not helping!" Danny shot back in frustration, arms held rigid against his sides, "What could you possibly have done that could make you a traitor?"

"A lot of things. I'm perfectly neutral, remember?" the android bit back, "What I do to keep myself in balance could be considered acts of treason by whomever is looking at me at the time. You ever think about that?" Danny raised an eyebrow at him and the redhead sighed harshly. "Okay, how's this for an example? Let's say there are two countries fighting over some valuable resource that's right smack in between them. One country is ruled by a monarchy, the other by a dictator; the monarchy is rich and wants to sell that resource out to make itself richer, while the dictatorship is relatively poor but very strong in weapons and wants to use the resource to make better weapons so it can invade the monarchy.

"I go to the dictatorship and educate the poor people. I feed them from their meager supplies and provide medical assistance so the people get stronger, healthier and are more educated." Caleb lifted a hand to stop Sam once her mouth opened to protest, and went on. "The dictator sees this and thinks I'm the best thing ever, so he gives me a position of power while he keeps on ordering his army to attack the monarchy. I secretly give that position to one of the people I had educated and then make my way over to the monarchy.

"When I'm there, I start a church to collect donations of money from the wealthy. I send that money over to the dictatorship and the person I put in my position uses it to bolster the poor families because he came from the poor as well. The monarchy keeps bleeding money to my church, the dictatorship suddenly has an uprising of the previously poor to overthrow their dictator using my successor as a go-between and then uses their education to establish a new government.

"In the end, the monarchy is no longer so rich, the dictatorship is now a democracy, the two countries decide to call a truce and divide the resource between themselves and eventually open a trade where the the monarchy can make goods from the resource that they can sell to the democracy and other countries, and the democracy can develop weapons and other sciences from their half of the resource to further improve themselves and other countries in exchange for those goods."

Caleb tilted his head and gazed at the stunned group of teens with hard eyes. "Now, tell me, wouldn't I still be called a traitor by both countries even though by doing what I did, they both came out even better than before?" he asked. Jazz lowered her gaze for a moment, then lifted them with a newly determined look as she stepped forward.

"But if you're called a traitor by helping both sides, then doesn't that make it less of a problem to activate the symbol?" she argued, "Since your sin of being a traitor isn't really a sin at all, it should be fine!" Caleb laughed suddenly, a harsh and hurtful sound that even had Wren cringing, worried expression on his face at what was happening to his old friend.

"Oh, _really_? Well, Jazz, how about if I told you that the ending of my little example wasn't really the ending?" the android retaliated darkly, "What if I said that the educated man I put into my position in the dictatorship wasn't there to help the poor overthrow the dictator and start a democracy? What if I put him there because he learned how to be an assassin, and I wanted him to be in a place to kill the dictator easily?" The teens flinched, Jazz and Sam both looking horrified by the change in the story. "And what if I told you that what I started in the monarchy wasn't really a church, but a drug trade? Bleeding out money and getting the wealthy addicted to drugs until even the servants of the monarchy were hooked? And what if I told you that I kept those events going on both sides until the dictator was assassinated, the monarch killed by a junkie on the promise of more drugs for doing so, and both countries fell into anarchy to become easy prey for outside countries to come in and take them over and get the resource for themselves?"

His smile was mostly teeth and horribly, horribly vicious. "I'd still be a traitor then, wouldn't I? And for a far darker purpose at that, even." he finished. Caleb shrugged, letting his legs drop from his huddle so that he could clack his heels together. "So you see, anything could happen if I touched that symbol. Any interpretation could come up. There's no way I can plan for every possible situation if that's the case." he finally finished, "So I'm not doing it."

"If I have to run therapy sessions on everyone here because of you," Jazz growled irritably, jabbing a finger in the redhead's direction, "I'm sticking refrigerator magnets to your face!" Caleb just blinked at her, baffled by the threat and wearing the most comical expression of confusion that it seemed to make the oppressively dark and grim mood vanish in an instant.

"Well, we can't stay here forever!" Valerie declared in irritation, throwing one hand up with her words, "After everything we've **been** through, it'd be just stupid to let Nebilim win 'cause the giant Ken doll didn't feel like touching a door!"

Danny pressed his hand against the symbol himself, fingers splayed out as he gazed at the many curves and lines and dashes that made the character on the doors. Traitor. Caleb's sin was of being a traitor. But to who? And why? He was friends with the Wonder Chef, was friends with the Heroes of Union; he protected Heroes and guided them, he archived the knowledge of the world and he kept the world safe so his sister and her Tree could always exist and thrive. Yeah, he had a messed up way of going about it sometimes, but everything worked out in the end, right? How could that make him a traitor?

"Caleb." he finally called down to him. The redhead looked up at him warily, glancing at the symbol next as though to confirm that his hand really was on it and not triggering anything. Danny sighed, feeling somewhat tired by all the events that were going on. "Can't you just... touch it? Just so we can hear what it wants? Then you can say no to it and we can spend some time resting while we figure out its riddle or whatever." He gave a little half-shrug. "I mean, that's what you kept telling us to do whenever we came across _our_ Trial symbols."

The android still gave him that same wary look, glancing over at the marking as if wondering when it would spring to life and bite him, or something. For a second, Danny could have sworn that Caleb was actually _afraid_ of the symbol. Why? He hadn't been all that bothered to give out examples of how he could be called a traitor, so why would touching the symbol for it give him the heebie-jeebies?

Maybe he was afraid of being judged based on what it would say? Like how Jazz had been hurt when it seemed like she was judged based on the symbol for shame and Tucker stayed in denial about the sin of lust and Sam covered up her feelings when it came to The Weak and Valerie had gone just _ballistic_ because of The Enraged. Heck, Danny himself could admit that he'd felt numb all over and very insecure about himself because of the symbol for corruption.

But Caleb had already been called a traitor before, probably tons of times, and it never seemed to affect him. Even when Sam yelled at him for fixing Valerie's gun back in Casper High, it just rolled right off him. Why would it affect him now? With this stupid symbol on a door?

He looked back at the android with more concern now, but Caleb was already making his way to the doors, walking slowly and with the Wonder Fork in both hands in that same defensive hold. Danny was pretty sure that, if not for the fact that his face was carefully blank and he was tense all over, the redhead would be shaking like a first-time visitor to Amity Park on an Ecto-Exodus night, with matching terrified expression.

The rest of Team Phantom just watched him head for the doors with concerned looks on their faces, Genis already bracing himself for something bad to jump at them and Wren looking completely lost. Once the redhead reached the massive double doors, his wings unfolded and he gave a tiny leap up to get airborne, rising up to hover beside the halfa in front of the symbol.

"It'll be okay. I'll still be with you." Danny tried to reassure him. _'And Wren too. He's right here, and he'll always stand by you.'_ He offered a small smile of encouragement. Caleb just stared at him, mouth tightened into a thin line even as everything about him just screamed, 'Don't make me do this!' The halfa even reached out and spread his hand over the symbol again as demonstration, fully aware that the marking was big enough to take up a sizable chunk of the center of the two doors. Still, he kept his hand on the burnt curves to show the redhead that things would be fine.

Caleb stretched a hand out, slowly, hesitantly, reaching for the lines himself. Danny kept quiet, watching him draw closer to the symbol. His brows furrowed together when he noticed that Caleb's hand was actually starting to tremble the closer he got to the lines. He glanced up at the android's face in hopes of an answer, seeing only a look of trepidation there, the redhead biting down on his lower lip and eyes almost wild with fear.

Why? _Why?_ Why was he so afraid of that symbol?

His fingertips were hovering just over the lines now, trembling almost violently. Caleb clenched them back into a fist to steady them, then spread his hand out once the shaking passed. Danny hadn't realized he was holding his breath until then, and from the sounds of the soft gasps down below, he figured that he wasn't the only one doing it. Just that last bit to go to close the gap.

Caleb had closed his eyes, murmuring softly under his breath in that old language that Danny couldn't understand again; angelic. It sounded almost like a prayer. The halfa couldn't help but frown at the delay. Was that really necessary?

Apparently so; at the end of the prayer, the android grimaced and threw his hand forward the last half inch needed to touch the marking. The lines lit up brilliantly with a blue-white radiance, shining outward and nearly blinding the rest of the group. Danny floated back from it, grabbing Caleb by the shoulder to pull him back as well, one hand lifted to try blocking some of the light. It started to die down to a more bearable glow as the ethereal voice spoke.

_"A hero fell into darkness and lost his life to repent."_ it intoned from everywhere at once, _"The servant sinned and betrayed his Master to repeat past tragedies."_

Caleb began shaking all over now. Danny stared at him in shock, seeing the wide-eyed horrified expression on his face as he hugged the Wonder Fork more closely to himself. What was happening to him?

_"One who lost the ability to love now stands only in the center."_ the voice went on, _"Holy Servant, you exist to cleanse another's sins. Will you confess your own?"_

"What?" Wren whispered in a stunned voice, taking a step forward as he gazed up at the redhead with wide eyes, "What does that mean? 'Betrayed his Master'?"

"Caleb!" Sam called out, hands cupped around her mouth, "You gotta answer the Trial!"

Danny continued staring at him, feeling a sick sort of dread wash over him. Oh, this wasn't gonna turn out well at **all**.

_"Will you confess your own?"_ the voice repeated with a more insistent tone, and Caleb finally answered.

**"NO!"** And the Guardian Angel of Heroes lashed out with the Wonder Fork, gouging four deep grooves across the Trial symbol, snuffing out its light and rendering it void before he turned and shot into the air, fleeing the startled group of ghost hunters.

* * *

"Well, that was a bust." Sam muttered irritably as she snuggled further into the recesses of her blankets and sleeping bag.

From what could be told of the Goth's watch, it had been about three hours since Caleb defaced the Trial symbol and fled. Camp had been set up, with sleeping bags spread for those who had them. Danny had gone out in search of their guide and Valerie sat on the chunk of rubble that Caleb had used, unable to bed down until he returned with his spare blankets for them. It was late, the teens were tired, and with the symbol ruined like that -not to mention the Trial-Taker being AWOL- there wasn't much to be done besides get some sleep and figure things out later.

The nighttime entertainment lay in the argument between Wren and Genis.

"This never would have happened if you guys would stop telling Martel to hold me back!" the Wonder Chef raged, hood down and arms gesturing wildly, "If I had been reborn, if I had the chance to talk to him even like this...!" He ran his hands through his hair and yelled intelligibly for a second before returning to normal language, "He wouldn't be like this if I was with him! That's all he ever wanted! That's all **I** ever wanted! I _wanted_ to go back to him, it's all of **you** that kept separating us!"

"It's too dangerous to just hand you over on a silver platter, Adam!" Genis shot back, stomping one foot forward and shaking a little fist at the older man. He looked about as threatening as a week-old puppy. "What if you decided to travel as Wonder Chef again, and some foreign country held you hostage? He'd rebuild the Mana Cannon and raze the place to get you back!"

"That's Rodyle! Caleb is **NOT** Rodyle!" the chef snapped back, shaking both hands at the half-elf as if yearning to wring his neck, "He would _never_ do that! He'd go in and rescue me himself! There would be no need for loss of life!"

"That's what he wants you to think! The minute some Third-World nation snatches you up, that's when Caleb goes _Incineration_-happy and triggers some massive world war **just** so he can use it as cover to get to you!"

"He's **not** DuGorge _**either**_!"

They degenerated into throwing things at each other after that, and the rest of the group lost interest, returning to focus on the situation they were now in.

"So, what do we do once Danny brings Caleb back?" Tucker asked quietly, "Without the Trial symbol, we can't go any further." Valerie snorted as she leaned back on her seat, bracing her arms so she wouldn't fall.

"That's easy. We have him carve a new Trial symbol on the door and activate that." she retorted, "Like he did back in Phantom's level."

"That's assuming he doesn't go slasher crazy on **it**, too." Sam pointed out dryly.

"It might help if we knew why he panicked like that." Jazz remarked thoughtfully, sitting on her own sleeping bag with the blanket draped around her shoulders, "The voice said that a hero fell into darkness and lost his life to repent." She scratched her head. "Well, that obviously references Mithos Yggdrasill. He was a Hero of the Kharlan War, but he fell to darkness after Martel died, then died himself when Lloyd and his friends defeated him." she went on. Sam blinked, folding her arms before herself to support her as she tilted her head.

"Oh, so it's talking about Caleb's soul there?" she questioned and rolled her eyes thoughtfully, "So the next line was..."

"'The servant sinned and betrayed his Master to repeat past tragedies.'" Valerie recited with a roll of her own eyes, "Which probably means that Caleb screwed up and did something he wasn't supposed to that was a lot like what happened before."

Nearby, Wren gave a harsh scream and abruptly turned to march away from the campsite, snapping the hood back over his head as Genis stumbled backwards from surprise and fell onto his rear end, watching him leave with wide eyes. The chef had had enough of the pointless argument and decided to just leave them in search of the android himself.

"That could be what the traitor symbol is trying to get him to reveal." Jazz remarked thoughtfully, "Confess the things he did that meant he betrayed his Master." She paused, pouting in sudden annoyance. "Wait a minute. We don't know **who** Caleb's master is! How do we know what he did is a betrayal if we don't know what type of actions his master considers the norm?"

"That last one worries me." Tucker added suddenly, his voice quiet and grim, "'One who lost the ability to love now stands only in the center.' Caleb has perfect neutrality, right? That means he 'stands in the center', right? What does it mean for him to lose the ability to love?" He looked up at the girls from the shelter of his sleeping bag, his PDA settled on the pillow beside him. "Does that spell of perfect neutrality do something else to him that he didn't tell us about?" Sam shrugged, looking somewhat worried as well.

They fell into silence again. There really was no point in deciphering the voice's proclamation. They didn't have enough information about the android's past, and with the symbol scarred like that, it wasn't going to be repeating those words anytime soon anyway. Jazz wadded up her blanket and tossed it towards Valerie as the rest of Team Phantom began settling down for sleep. They felt fairly confident that Danny would return soon with the android.

They weren't so confident on how Caleb was going to deal with the symbol on the doors.

* * *

Danny drifted through the air almost lazily, looking around for flashes of red that could be the android. After the events that occurred at the doors, he took off to find Caleb and figure out what happened. The words of the voice nagged at the back of his mind, giving him a faint feeling of wrongness about everything that was happening. Why had Caleb reacted that way? What kind of sin was it asking Caleb to confess to?

What kind of betrayal had Caleb committed that he went **this** far to cover it up?

He'd been cruising for so long, he lost track of time. Eyes half-lidded from fatigue, altitude dropping steadily, it took him a few minutes to realize that he'd seen a splash of red and passed it by. Danny flailed in the air and made a quick U-turn, zipping through the air to the last place he'd seen the bright color.

There! Not far from where he'd been flying, Danny could see the huddled form of the angelic android curled up and leaning against one of the fallen cylinders. He flew in close, slicing through the air in familiar curving patterns, his ghost tail whipping back and forth as he moved. There was no way Caleb wouldn't have sensed him coming, but the android didn't seem to react to him at all. Drawing closer, Danny was able to better see him.

Caleb was back in that huddle again, legs pulled up and arms wrapped around them tightly. His face was buried, pressed against his knees, and the Wonder Fork lay across his lap, the handle long enough to let the prongs and a sizable section of the rest of the fork jut out from either side of him. He didn't move, didn't make a sound, even when Danny touched down lightly in front of him. He waited for some sign that showed him the android recognized he was there, but none came.

He sighed and let the ring flash into view around his waist, allowing it to split in two and pass over him to change him back into Danny Fenton. A sigh of relief as he was able to once again feel his much stronger heartbeat and discern temperature differences more normally, and Danny reached out to put his hand on Caleb's head again, much like he would if he were to comfort a lonely dog.

_'Which isn't really that far from the truth, is it?'_ Danny thought to himself ruefully, absently petting the strands of semi-synthetic hair, _'Considering he's as faithful as a dog and got named for it. And he really **does** seem lonely.'_

"Hey." he finally called out, a bit thrown off by the lack of echo in his voice now -had it really been so long since he was last his human self?- but managing to keep his voice steady. No response. "Is it my turn to ask if you're okay?" Danny tried to joke, hoping some light humor would get him somewhere. Nope. "Geez, Caleb, is it _really_ that bad? Whatever sin that symbol was talking about?" he finally asked in faint exasperation.

"Yes." Caleb finally replied in a small voice, "Yes, it is." Danny pulled his hand back and waited, head tilted, hoping for further explanation. He didn't have to wait long. The redhead sighed and uncurled from his huddle, stretching his legs out so the raven-haired teen had to step aside and leaning back against the cylinder, letting the back of his head bump into the metal as he gazed up at the ceiling so far above them. Danny could see the trail of dried tears on his face, but said nothing about them, simply waited. Caleb's hands gripped the handle of the giant fork again, as though to draw comfort from the contact.

"I suppose," the android began in a soft, almost broken voice, still gazing upward and not at Danny and the halfa realized that he was doing that on purpose, "that I can't ignore it any longer. I've run from those memories the moment I made them, and I've been running for a very long time. As sharp and clear as they are to me, as long as I ran and kept myself busy with archiving and guiding and protecting, I wouldn't have the chance to call it up." He closed his eyes and Danny winced at the fresh tears that traced their way down his profile. "You remember when I said that it was easy for me to brush off sins? That I get a new one every year and think of them as stupid presents?" Caleb asked and didn't even wait for the teen to try recalling the conversation, "Well, that was me hiding. Hiding behind my Goddess-forsaken curse of a wall because there **is** something that I didn't want anyone to know about. Especially Wren... above **all,** Wren!"

Danny let himself fall back against the cylinder as well, back pressing against cool metal as he let his head hang down, chin resting on his chest while Caleb lifted his hands to cover his own face.

"My life would be **over** if he ever found out, and the worst part is _I don't even know if he already has_." the android moaned, "The Heroes of Union all know, and they rejected me because of it! Martel knows and she condemned me for it! If my own _sister_ hasn't forgiven me for it, I don't even want to know what Wren would say!"

The halfa winced. Oh, this was just getting better and better. Did life **really** hate Danny Phantom or something? He looked over at the android again, blinking when he found Caleb had pulled one leg up to provide a rest for his arm, his hand curved along his chin and cheek as he looked thoughtfully distant. Strangely enough, he looked almost serene, like he wasn't being asked to reveal his deepest, darkest, most innermost secrets and was simply asked what he thought of the view in front of him.

Danny blanched when Caleb even uttered the soft little 'Hm' of idle interest that went with that look.

"All right. If it's the only way to keep moving so we can escape..." the android sighed and got up, taking the fork in hand. He dusted himself off, seemingly oblivious to Danny's baffled expression as the halfa pushed himself away from the cylinder and transformed back into his Phantom self. When he finally did notice the boy, Caleb blinked at him, then gave him a little smile, eyes closed so it looked rather charming on his face. "If I were to take a guess, I'd say you would last about ten seconds. Max." he remarked cryptically and walked away, shouldering the Wonder Fork as he headed back to the campsite.

* * *

They came across the cloaked Wren as they were walking back. Danny winced at Caleb's sharp glare at the figure; he kept wondering when the android would realize that his old friend was there, but Tucker had mentioned to him during the walk that the chef had altered Caleb's mana records of him. So Caleb couldn't sense him properly and Wren kept silent so he couldn't hear his voice -though Danny **did** wonder why Caleb hadn't picked him up when Wren argued so loudly back at the Trial symbol-, which meant that besides ripping the cloak right off him, the redhead had no clue who was walking with them.

"Who the hell **is** that? It's not Raine; they're not matching up with the mana records. Should have known when they showed up and didn't even register in my sensors..." Caleb grumbled under his breath and marched past the figure, tightening his grip on the Wonder Fork as he passed by. Wren just turned in place, watching him leave with a wistful expression before sighing and falling into step with Danny, the two of them following him back to camp.

"Gimme your hand." the halfa muttered and when the chef complied, he started writing in his palm again, _"Why can't you just talk to him? Maybe you can figure out why this symbol's making him freak out?"_

"He's filtered out my voice. Like an internal mute button on me." Wren replied with a shake of his head, "He used to do it to me when we were younger, mostly to ignore me whenever I started talking about something he didn't like to hear."

So Danny had his answer there. It didn't comfort him at all when the three of them reached camp and found the other teens already dozing off. Caleb looked around with a frown, then shrugged and started pulling the spare bedding from his own pack to give Valerie and Danny more comfortable places to sleep.

Genis was sitting by one of the fallen cylinders, sulking as he watched the group. "I'm going back to Martel. I'm totally beat and it'll probably be better if someone **else**," he gave Wren a meaningful glare, "came to help with whatever Trial is here." He watched Caleb lay out another blanket, a strangely considering look on his face. Danny didn't like that kind of look; it was the same one Vlad would have when he was about to pull a verbal trick of some kind, some stupid little 'test' to see how much Danny had become like him.

"Try not to get these guys killed, okay, 'Mithos'?" the half-elf called out to the redhead. Danny's eyes widened, glancing quickly towards the android in expectation of another angry snap.

Instead, Caleb tensed, then seemed to wilt. "Yes, Genis. I'll try my best." he returned dully, then smoothed out the blanket and went to the double doors, digging into his satchel for his tools.

Those still awake stared after him in shock. Genis looked positively stunned, face growing pale. He reached after the redhead, mouth open as if to say something more, but suddenly vanished before he could speak. Danny wanted to pull his hair out and scream in frustration; what the hell was **that** supposed to do? Caleb had already been broken up enough by the level's illusions and deceptions, the Symphonian Heroes just **had** to add on more guilt?

"You're **not** Mithos! Okay? That's just Genis being stupid!" the halfa yelled towards him, "You're Caleb, the Wonder Chef's best friend!"

"Not after tomorrow." the redhead returned flatly, already working on carving the Trial symbol into the door, "Go to sleep, Raven, you and that cloaked mute. Don't wake the others with your yelling." Danny opened his mouth to protest, and didn't even get that far. "Sleep. **Now.**" Caleb repeated, turning his head to glare at him with brightly glowing eyes.

In a huff, Danny crawled into bed and covered himself with the blankets before trying to get some sleep.

* * *

Morning brought Team Phantom breakfast made by the Wonder Chef. Caleb was at the double doors still, the fork strapped across his back and his forehead touching the wood. A few feet beside him, the angelic symbol for 'traitor' had been neatly carved into place, not as large as the original but still sizable enough to be seen and recognized. That was the first thing the teens noticed when they looked around after eating.

The second thing they noticed was the figure that was trying to talk to Caleb, rubbing his back as though it would be of any help. Long blonde hair and familiar white clothes trimmed in blue, the Chosen of Regeneration looked like she'd just stepped out of the pages of the _Symphonian Cultures_ textbook.

"Hey! What's Colette doing here?" Sam exclaimed in surprise, "And what happened to Genis?"

"They switched out." Danny explained, still irritated by the events of the previous night, "Genis said he was wearing out, but I think Martel yanked him back for rubbing Caleb wrong and replaced him with someone who's a lot more forgiving."

After another minute of chatting with Caleb -which obviously wasn't going anywhere-, Colette jogged over to join the teens and gave them all a little smile in greeting. "Oh, good morning, everyone!" she said brightly, and Jazz frowned at the obvious force behind it, "I'm Colette, and um, well, I look like I did when the Ratatosk journey began! Did you all have a good rest?" When everyone nodded, slowly but they nodded, she looked genuinely relieved. "Oh, that's good!" the blonde angel remarked, clapping her hands together over her heart, "Um, what's wrong with Caleb? He doesn't seem as happy as he used to be. Martel told me some of what happened with Genis, but it's really not all Caleb's fault. Genis just hasn't quite forgiven him yet."

"Forgiven him for what?" Wren growled before any of the others could speak up, "All of you know something about Caleb that I don't and that's not fair! He's **my** best friend!" Colette blinked and gave that little smile again, and Danny recognized it as a false one, a mask like the one Caleb wore so much.

_'What are they all hiding? Even Colette's keeping some secret about him all locked up inside. And if all the dead Heroes from Symphonia know it, then why not Wren?'_ He gave the girl a suspicious look, then reached over and nudged the chef. "Hey, calm down. It might have to do with the Trial symbol, so if we just let Caleb know we're ready to go, we'll probably find out."

"Um, about that..." Colette interrupted, her smile growing a touch strained, "Wouldn't it be better if our cloaked friend left?" She focused her gaze on Wren specifically, almost pleading for him to walk away.

"Why?" Jazz argued, eyes narrowing as she, too, began growing suspicious of the Chosen, "Genis heard the Trial requirements, so did..." She didn't say anything else, just waved towards the Wonder Chef. "What does it matter if we all hear or see Caleb's admission of his sin?" Colette kept silent, still giving the chef that pleading look.

"Maybe because it has something to do with Mithos's soul and what happened in Vinhelm?" Tucker suggested, watching Colette for a reaction. Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, but that was all.

_'No, something worse. What was it that Genis said? Something about a day he didn't even want to think about?'_ Danny thought to himself, scratching his head, _'Genis mentioned it when we figured out that Caleb's soul used to belong to Mithos. Valerie said something that made him say that. What was it?'_

He couldn't get further than that, too much had happened in that short span of time for him to recall everything. While he was spaced out, though, it looked like Wren had won his argument to stay with the group and not be sent off to some other part of Engineering. Colette didn't look happy at all with the decision.

"Hey, he's stuck with us until Caleb beats the Trial." Sam pointed out to her, "It's better he stay with us so Nebilim can't pull a dirty trick with him."

"I was kind of hoping Kratos would join us." Valerie sighed, "No offense, Colette, but I read in the book that he was a pretty tough swordsman, and we could use more attack power over angel magic. Caleb's got us covered in that department."

They started packing up, putting everything away and slipping on backpacks again as they made their way to join Caleb at the doors. Colette floated along beside them, her pink angel wings fluttering gently. They were different from Caleb's, Danny noted, all smoothly shaped mana feathers instead of the spiky jets that the android had for his wings. He smirked, already picturing her reaction to seeing Caleb take flight for the first time.

"Hey, I've got a dumb question." Valerie suddenly added, brows furrowed together as though it had been on her mind for the longest time, "Every time one of you Heroes of Union shows up, you say that you're taking the form you had during the Ratatosk event. What does that mean exactly?" Colette smiled towards her, bright blue eyes looking sweet and luminous.

"It means we're appearing at the age we were during those events. Caleb remembers how we look during all the years we've lived, but he doesn't know how we look during the Ratatosk event because he was offline the whole time." she explained, "It's easy for us to appear like this because then we can prove we were sent by Martel and not made up by Nebilim like those first few times you came across fake Heroes."

Valerie nodded, accepting that answer, then frowned and jerked her thumb back over her shoulder at the Wonder Chef's general direction. "Okay, so then why didn't he show up at that same age?" she asked her.

"Because my appearance didn't change all that much during the Ratatosk event." Wren answered in annoyance, cutting off whatever Colette was about to say, "Between the time Caleb and I first met, which was a few months after the worlds were united, and the end of the Ratatosk event, I stayed relatively the same in looks. That's why I came at my oldest age, to help you tell the difference between me and the fake Wonder Chef."

Sam halted with a scowl, which forced the rest of the group to stop as well. Danny glanced over at Caleb, but the android seemed to still be ignoring them, forehead pressed against the door like some weird kind of Time-Out punishment.

"Yeah, that's been bugging me. How old are you in that form?" the Goth demanded, hands on her hips as she glared at the chef. Wren blinked, then shrugged.

"Twenty-six." he replied bluntly. The teens stared at him in surprise, Jazz's hands flying up to her mouth. Sam looked dumbfounded.

"Seriously? You mean...?" she stammered, face paling. Wren nodded.

"I died when I was twenty-six. I met Caleb when I was seventeen. Do the math." he returned almost bitterly.

Danny felt himself reeling. Nine years, only nine short years. Caleb and Wren were together, having adventures and living life, for only nine years. It only took ten years for Dan Phantom to turn the whole world into a desolate wasteland. He hugged himself, rubbing his arms in a pathetic attempt to warm himself. He looked over at Colette; did she know about this?

Apparently, yes. She looked sad, gazing downward as though about to cry, but no tears fell.

"H-how?" Jazz managed to squeak out, tears collecting in the corners of her eyes. The chef shrugged, like it wasn't a big deal to him.

"Killed by accident. I was trying to break up a fight in this town called Murin," Danny spotted Colette flinching and wondered why, "and one of the people in the fight had a knife drawn." Wren hummed, mouth tightening for a moment. "He didn't mean to get me, but I already knew what was coming. Didn't I tell you before? The world can't bear the weight of someone who can love all life the way I do; I **had** to die, to relieve the weight from the world." he finished and frowned, "Not that I was happy about it; I was still pretty steamed. I mean, I had a family, my best friend and the best restaurant in Sylvarant. All gone in the blink of an eye. Sure, I already had my affairs sorted since I knew that I'd be dead soon, but still! I hope those farmers learned their lesson and quit fighting over stupid things!"

He strode forward, deciding that the discussion was over then and there, and the teens moved on, varying degrees of shock still on their faces. Colette looked vaguely panicky. Danny wondered why.

* * *

When they joined Caleb at the door, it took a few prods to get him to realize the teens were waiting for him to get a move on. He lifted his head from the door, turning to stare blankly at them before shaking his head to clear the mental fog.

"Oh, right. Yes. Trial symbol." he sighed in resignation, "It was nice knowing you." The group gave him confused looks, but Caleb just ignored those and moved to stand before the symbol on the doors. He reached out his hand and touched his fingertips to the carving, watching it light up brilliantly under the contact.

_"A hero fell into darkness and lost his life to repent. The servant sinned and betrayed his Master to repeat past tragedies."_ the voice began to intone, repeating the words from before, _"One who lost the ability to love now stands only in the center. Holy Servant, you exist to cleanse another's sins. Will you confess your own?"_

Danny felt himself tense as a moment passed where Caleb didn't answer. He half-expected the android to do the same thing he did before, scream out a 'No!', slash the symbol and make a run for it. Instead, Caleb just sighed and turned around to face the group of ghost hunters, gazing at them with lidded eyes with what looked like a fairly disinterested expression.

"Yes." he remarked, short and simple.

_"Then be punished for your betrayal."_ the voice returned icily before fading away.

For a while, nothing happened. Jazz gave Caleb a pitying look, clutching her purse in her hands. Sam and Danny exchanged glances, then went back to waiting for the android to do something. Colette bit her lip, darting little glances of her own towards the cloaked Wonder Chef, looking like she wished they were anywhere but right there.

"I had two Masters in my lifetime." Caleb suddenly began, his voice neutral and betraying no emotion at all, "The first was Master Altessa, the dwarf who built and programmed me. When he released me from his service, he was no longer my Master but my father. My second Master was my best friend, the Wonder Chef... Wren."

The group tensed, each thinking furiously how much they should **not** turn to look at the blonde chef standing with them. If the android noticed, he didn't react to it.

"The Master I betrayed was Wren." Caleb went on, still as stoic as when he first began despite the gasps rising from the young heroes, "The news of his death in Murin stuck me to the core. It wasn't fair, really. After all the suffering and pain that Wren went through to have the life he deserved... why had he died over some meaningless squabble about a missing pig? Why was my precious treasure stolen from me?"

A wave of dread washed over Danny, over the others from the looks on their faces. Even Wren had paled in the shadows of the hood and cloak, eyes wide with slowly dawning horror.

"After the funeral, I decided to go to Murin myself and see what kind of people Wren died for. I hoped for some kind of proof, to see in them what Wren did." Caleb went on in that same neutral tone, hands in his pockets and disinterest on his face. "And I saw people laughing, playing, being cheerful and enjoying their lives. Not a single expression of remorse for what happened. Not a bit of gratitude." The disinterest shifted into a scowl. "Not. A. Single. Tear."

The group stepped back subconsciously as Caleb pulled his hands from his pocket, face twisting into an expression of fury as they clenched into fists at his sides. The green and white servant's clothes shifted and glowed, fading into the now familiar arrangement of black armor and mail, the clothing of Avenger Mode, white wings flaring suddenly from Caleb's back as his eyes narrowed and glowed a brilliant crimson color.

Danny wondered if the ground was really trembling like that or if it was just his imagination. Either way, he lifted from it, floating in the air and staring at the enraged android in horror.

"Guys... he's not actually **in** Avenger Mode!" Tucker exclaimed, PDA clutched in one hand, "I don't know what he's doing, but he's got the looks of Avenger without having anything or any**one** to protect!"

"They took my most precious person from me and didn't feel a _thing_! How **dare** they get to enjoy the sunshine and the beautiful world my Wren fought and bled to help create, and be the ones to deny him ever seeing the sun again?" Caleb hissed in that cold voice.

"But how did you betray Wren?" Danny heard Sam call out and mentally wished she'd shut up for once in her life.

_"I decimated the town of Murin for killing him!"_ Caleb declared, throwing his arms up as he rose from the ground to hover before the retreating teens, "Every man, woman and child that lived in that wretched town; I slaughtered them **all** where they stood! None of them deserved to live after what they did!"

It was like ice ran through his veins as Danny planted himself at the front of the huddling, horrified group of teens and ancient Heroes, arms spread protectively over them as he stared up at the angelic android. Wren had dropped to all fours, shielded by his cloak and hood, and trembling almost violently at the confession.

"Those people, all those people, those innocent people..." the chef mumbled over and over, eyes wide and unseeing, "Because of me..."

"It wasn't enough that the people were dead." Caleb went on coldly, "Miserable town; I wiped it off the face of the planet. _Shining Bind_, _Indignation Judgment_; just those two spells were enough to completely destroy anything that once stood there. The records of Murin in my archives were erased on the spot. Nothing would be left of that wretched town; I decreed it forever stricken from history." He swept a hand before himself as if in demonstration. "It was as if it never existed." He drifted down until he landed almost daintily, wings folding back and vanishing as his clothes shifted back to normal, and his expression changed from fury to grief and guilt.

"Lloyd and his friends snapped me out of it by calling me Mithos; it was enough of a shock to pull me back to my senses. But they turned their backs on me when I begged for forgiveness, and Martel told me that what I did proved his influence was still there." the android went on in a soft, sad voice, "That was when she declared that I would never be able to meet Wren in death. I would have to continue living, archiving knowledge and knowing he was lost to me in the Yggdrasill Tree. Pepper and I kept to ourselves from then on."

He closed his eyes, almost as if waiting for something to happen. That something was Sam's voice again, unusually quiet and full of dread.

"How did Pepper die?" she asked.

"That was how I betrayed Wren again." Caleb replied in a dead tone, "The loophole I found; if I could not be with Wren in death, then I would bring him back to life in a proper vessel."

A thick silence fell over the group, the same thought all flitting through their minds. Did Caleb try to make a vessel out of someone for Wren to possess? Exactly like what Mithos tried to do for Martel?

"I didn't want to be like Mithos. I didn't want to make an angel for Wren. I promised that for him." Caleb answered the unspoken questions, "If he were an angel, he wouldn't be able to taste or eat, and that would be hell for a Wonder Chef. So I tried to create a body out of pure mana using the spells from a book I found. If I did that, it wouldn't have a soul, so I could summon Wren's and place it in the new body. No one would have to die for his resurrection."

The redhead looked at his hands, eyes tearing up as he began to cry, trembling as he shook his head.

"I did it wrong, all wrong! The spell needed a huge amount of mana to create the body, and it opened a vortex to drain out all of mine!" he sobbed, "I was going to be swallowed by it, but Pepper... oh, Goddess, Pepper! She shoved me out of the way and let the vortex consume her instead!" He covered his face with his hands, dropping to his knees as he shook. "She was a mana beast, and she loved me like a daughter would a father, and she gave her life up for me! She told me that I was meant to wait, to wait for Wren to come back on his own, and she would be happy for me when that day came. And then she was gone..."

"We had it wrong." Colette breathed in shock, her hands over her mouth as she kept her wide eyes on the redhead, "We thought it was because of Murin that Caleb got perfect neutrality..."

"Martel was furious with me for what happened." Caleb continued, hands resting on the ground now, not even looking at the teens before him, "And that was when I asked to be put under a spell, the strongest she could conjure, to seal my heart from then on. If I never cared for someone as strongly as I cared for Wren ever again, then I would never repeat my mistakes. That was how I got perfect neutrality."

Jazz nodded and Danny looked to her for an explanation. "I see. If Caleb becomes perfectly neutral, he'll be forced to alter his perceived loyalties when it appears he is becoming too fond of someone." she murmured, "No stable bond means no chance to really grow to love and care for someone... means no violent retribution if anything befell that someone."

_'But I broke that. I broke past perfect neutrality and he bonded to me!'_ Danny thought in alarm, _'I thought it was because of my ectomana, we even proved it by changing the files... but he still called me Raven, he still checked up on me!'_

_'He still has a bond! He can still trigger Avenger Mode!'_

That oppressive silence fell over them again, and Caleb slowly got to his feet, absently brushing dust from his clothes and hands as he rose. He turned his gaze on the teens and the mask of blankness on his face hid anything that might have come when Danny and his friends flinched at making eye contact.

"I suppose I was being generous when I said ten seconds." the android finally stated flatly and smiled falsely at Danny's confused expression, "I was timing how long it would take for you to reject me. No response, seven seconds. That's a new record."

Behind him the doors shuddered and swung outward, a swirl of violet light in its immediate space made Colette blanch and shrink back. Caleb looked back over his shoulder out of curiosity, seemed to recognize the swirl with an expression of shock, then faced forward, startled again.

Danny had leaped ahead despite the cries of alarm from his friends and floated before the android, hands gripping his shoulders tightly. He glared at him, eyes narrowed as their noses just about touched. Caleb blinked, then cringed, probably expecting some kind of scream-fest about how much he betrayed them or some other drama.

"Don't think you know me that well, Caleb." Danny growled, "I may be just fourteen years old, but I know this; if you're really sorry for something you did, no matter how awful it is or how unforgivable you think you are, the people who love you will come to help you. They'll forgive you and accept you and help you fix what happened as best you all can and **move on**." The android gaped at him. "How the hell do you expect to be happy when Wren finally comes back when you keep lugging around all that emo baggage?" the halfa told him firmly, "So what if the Heroes of Union turned their backs on you then? They didn't know you the way Wren did, so yeah, it took them _this_ long to get that you feel horrible about what you did. But you've got Wren," and Danny really hoped that he did, because the Wonder Chef had looked _awful_ during Caleb's confession, "and you've got me, and I'll drag my friends into it too, because there is no way I'm gonna let you go hiding behind your wall to kill your emotions again when you've beaten yourself up enough."

He pulled away and looked back at his friends with a stern expression, waiting for their responses. Slowly, Jazz, Sam, Tucker and Valerie all looked at one another, their faces pensive, considering. In all the Trials they had gone through, for all the sins they had revealed, never once had Caleb judged them for it. He coaxed them through each one, playing up their strengths and reminding them of the friendship they shared that would support them through it all.

Would it be fair if they judged him for something he already felt remorseful about?

One by one, the Heroes of Amity Park stood and walked towards the android, wrapping arms around him in a group hug that had taken him by surprise. Colette watched, sniffling, before flying in and joining the hug, arms wrapped tight around his shoulders as she buried her face in his neck.

"I'm sorry, Caleb! I'm really sorry! I wanted to forgive you back then, but I was so angry and hurt and I felt so betrayed that you would do those things after everything Adam taught you!" she babbled through her tears. Caleb stayed silent at first, still stunned, then he chuckled, softly, shaking his head.

"Must be a teen trait; you guys seem to like to make things difficult for me." he murmured as the group hug finally dissipated. The looks of confusion only made him smile wider. "Never mind." He gave them a sweeping bow. "Thank you. All of you. I've been trying to repent for what I did to that town, but I think now... I can finally forgive myself."

Danny had floated back from the group hug to join Wren, who lingered a few feet away in silence. At the halfa's questioning gaze, the chef simply smiled and shook his head.

"It shocked me, but I'd forgiven him before he was even done talking." he murmured, "I know how he feels; I did some things that were about as bad as what he did, back during the Wonder War. I thought he wouldn't forgive me, but he did, and spent time from his mission helping me to atone for those things." He shrugged, smiling at the cheered redhead, "I wouldn't be the best friend he cares so much about if I didn't do the same for him." He tilted his head, glancing at Danny. "Well? Let's go help him beat his Trial."

They joined the group in time to see Caleb turn to face the door with sort of grim determination. "If I'm right about this entrance, I think I know exactly who we're going to be fighting." he growled, Wonder Fork in hand as the other teens quickly got into their own fighting gear or armed themselves properly, Colette's best chakrams, the Angel Halo, materializing into her hands. Danny clenched his fists, adrenaline rushing through him at the idea of finally facing the true form of the fake Wonder Chef.

"Let's go defeat The Traitor!"


	44. Chapter 44

A/N: Phew, it's been ages since I could really work on this, but here you go. Nice long chappy to make up for the absence.

Last we left off, Caleb had finally revealed his sins, the reasons for why he is labeled a traitor and how he got perfect neutrality. Now Team Phantom, along with Colette and the disguised Wonder Chef, are about to face off with The Traitor, a very familiar boss and one that Caleb is still very much afraid of...

* * *

44

Leaping through the swirl of violet had left Danny feeling a bit dizzy. He shook his head to clear his mind as he heard soft gasps of awe around him. Once assured of where 'up' was this time, he took the time to look around as well.

He and his friends all stood on an outcropping of rock, smooth and flat, with a strange glowing circle of lines and runes just ahead of them. A little further from that, the outcropping ended, and all around them was this massive swirl of violet and black that all seemed to be drawn towards some distant point, dragging chunks of floating rubble and rock along with them. Far ahead of them, floating like some impossible island, was a sizable chunk of a throne room, pillars, banners, throne and all, with a tiny figure sitting on that throne.

"I read this part." Sam muttered apprehensively, "This is the throne room of Vinheim, where the Heroes of Union faced off with Mithos Yggdrasill for the final battle to recover the Great Seed and save the two worlds." Colette nodded once.

"Yes." she agreed simply. Tucker winced, grip tightening on the Lens gun in his hand.

"Don't tell me the black guy dies in this one. I hate movies that end with that." he complained.

"Nobody's going to die." Caleb sighed harshly, then paused and seemed to reconsider his statement, "Well, not for too long, hopefully. Resurrection spells typically don't work if someone's been dead for more than fifteen minutes." He took on a grim expression, holding up the Wonder Fork like he was going to beat someone with it. "So no _Sacrifice_ spells, okay, Colette? You're already dead; Lloyd would have my head if you managed to get more dead than that."

"God, it's crowded on this little chunk of rock!" Valerie complained, "How are we gonna get from here to over there, where that guy's gonna get his ass kicked?" Sam gestured towards the circle of light.

"We do what the Heroes of Union did; step on the teleport magic to get taken to the floating island. Then we'll see what the fake Adam turned into." she remarked and glared at the distant landmass, "Hopefully something big and ugly so we can justify beating his face into the ground." Colette gave a little smile, weak and uncertain.

"He was actually kind of... pretty. Well, the first time we fought him, at least." she chirped, and Caleb sighed in dismay, dropping his face into his hand with an audible smack.

Danny looked around at the floating boulders, peered ahead at the distant floating island, then gave Caleb an uncertain expression. Would the android really be able to handle taking on his Trial? He took a few steps forward, making his way to the magic circle as his friends fell into step behind him, all of them silent and grimly determined to get past this final Trial.

The world seemed to stretch and fade once he was in the circle, but it only lasted a second, hardly long enough for him to get dizzy from it, and he was soon standing on the giant floating island he'd spotted. Danny took a quick stock of his surroundings as the rest of the team materialized around him. There were a few stone pillars still standing, damaged, but otherwise fine. A long carpeted path of rich red cloth ran under his feet and up to the throne several feet away, the only bit of furniture in the broken remnant of a room. It was pushed up against a chunk of wall which still had a couple of tapestries draped across the brick, a statue of a tall, willowy woman on either side. Danny squinted -those statues looked familiar- and then his mouth dropped open slightly as he realized they looked a lot like that shadowy figure he'd seen when they first entered the Book so long ago. A woman with long flowing hair and holding a staff decorated with wings and a sphere on top; was that Martel, the sister of Mithos and now Caleb's sister?

Sitting on the throne, lounging really, was a tall, slender figure dressed in a white outfit that was freakishly form-fitting. It had long blonde hair and an almost pretty face that belied his true nature, cheek resting on one hand and the other lazily draped over its lap, looking for all intents and purposes like someone sleeping during their shift of an easy job. Danny glared at the figure as Colette and Wren both gasped sharply behind him; no doubt, **this** was what Mithos Yggdrasill looked like when the Heroes of Union faced him. **This** was the crazed angel who tore a world in two, murdered millions of people to resurrect his sister, and vowed to do the exact same thing if given the chance.

This was the maniac whose soul now existed in Caleb as a new life, chained by the burden of guilt for crimes he didn't commit and didn't mean to repeat.

"Hey, guys..." Tucker remarked suddenly, breaking the tense silence created by Team Phantom's collective glare at the figure ahead of them.

"Guys..." He was ignored in favor of glaring even more pointedly at the Trial.

_"Guys!"_ Tucker finally shouted in exasperation and Danny redirected his glare at the techno-geek.

"What?" he snapped at last and Tucker pointed at the magic circle behind them all.

"Caleb hasn't shown up yet." he replied in a flat tone and the group turned around in shared dismay, scanning the area for the red-haired android. Not a sign of him was found on the island. Sam dug out her binoculars and peered through them at the distant outcropping of rock they had all been standing on just minutes ago.

"Oh, for crying out loud! He's still over there!" she griped in irritation and lowered the binoculars to glare again, "What the heck is he thinking? We can't defeat the Trial unless **he's** the one doing the most damage and **he's** got to make that last hit!"

"It's possible he's still afraid." Jazz mused aloud, her tone thoughtful as she folded her arms over her chest, gazing towards the distant flash of red and green. "I just don't understand him. After all the encouragement and the reminders that we're still his friends, he's _still_ unwilling to face his Trial?"

"I wouldn't want to, either, if my Trial was the guy who could split a planet in half without blinking." Tucker grumbled under his breath, rolling his eyes.

Danny scratched his head, wondering if he should go back and give that whole pep-talk thing another try, when Sam lifted her binoculars again and stiffened. "Oh, he's finally getting in the circle!" she exclaimed, "I guess he was getting himself psyched up for this?" She put the binoculars away as a flash of light went off in the distance, quickly followed by a milder one that didn't blind the group as Caleb appeared on the island with them, clutching the Wonder Fork tightly in both hands again.

"What kept you?" Valerie demanded, hands on her hips as she glared at him. Caleb shot her a glance and she stepped back in alarm, hands dropping from their places as she caught sight of a familiar emotion in his eyes, one that she normally saw in the eyes of the citizens of Amity Park during major ghost invasions. Sheer _terror._ And now it was in the eyes of their teacher, the angelic android that boasted complete control of his emotions and situations.

"Something wrong?" Danny asked him in concern, sharing a worried glance with Wren as the chef withdrew further into his hood and cloak, watching the android seem to huddle behind the fork, dread clear on his face.

"I'm about to face the one being in existence that scares me witless." Caleb returned in a tight voice, eyes squeezing shut in a grimace, "What do you **think**?" Danny winced. Had to give him that one, though. The redhead took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "All right. Here goes." he murmured and began walking ahead, still hunched behind the Wonder Fork, feet silently padding over the red carpet that guided him straight to the throne. The others followed, gripping their respective weapons and on full alert for any movement that would mean an incoming attack. Danny and Wren simply ghosted along, one hovering, the other stepping just as softly as Caleb, but both just as wary and distrustful of the blonde figure on the throne.

When Caleb crossed some invisible threshold, the figure on the throne opened its eyes and smiled at him, the kind of smile a predator would get if they saw their favorite prey walk blindly into their grasp. The group stopped dead in their tracks, staring up at the Trial, frozen, waiting for the next move to be made. Danny swallowed hard, eyes tracing back and forth rapidly between Caleb -who'd suddenly gone rigid- and the figure of Mithos Yggdrasill -who was still smiling at the android-, and had the sudden desperate wish that he hadn't gotten himself involved in all this because, **really**, what could a fourteen-year-old half-ghost do to a bazillion-year-old insane angel with a ton of magic and who would gleefully rip your soul out and eat it for dinner with a side of Nasty Sauce?

_"Home."_ the Trial with Yggdrasill's face suddenly murmured, his voice carrying over them all despite having only spoken softly. It echoed all around the teens, around them and in them, and it made them shudder. Sam lifted her hands to her shoulders, gripping them and her dagger together as she huddled, wide violet eyes staring at the blonde on the throne. Yggdrasill fluidly rose from his seat, hovering in the air on massive songbird wings of all colors, and slowly stretched out a hand towards Caleb, fingers uncurling in offering. _"We're going home."_

Caleb dropped the fork. It clattered to the floor near his feet and the sound startled the group, all eyes going to it in surprise, then up at their teacher in shock as he let the strap of his bag slide off his shoulder, leaving it sitting on the torn red carpet and looking pathetic. Colette's hands flew up to her mouth, wings fluttering as she hovered in the air.

"Oh no..." she breathed as Caleb took a step forward, helplessly dazed expression on his face as he lifted his chin to gaze up at the Trial.

"Home. I'm going home." he echoed softly, and the Trial smiled wider, more triumphantly, at the startled cries rising from the teens.

"Hey! What the hell? Caleb!" Valerie snapped in alarm, "What's going on?" Jazz lunged forward, grabbing the back of Caleb's coat and digging in her heels, trying to hold him back as he took another step.

"He's been enthralled somehow!" she yelled over her shoulder, "Help me get him back! We don't know what'll happen if the Trial grabs him!" Danny dove in to help, grabbing onto an arm as Sam darted in to grab the other, Tucker and Valerie rushing to latch onto his coat-tails. All together, they pulled, grunting in effort as they dug in their heels and managed only to hold him in place, the android leaning forward as he continued gazing up at the Trial.

"The Trial's doing something." Colette told the group, frustration clear on her face as she bobbed in place, hands clenched in fists and shaking, "The Trial is saying the same things Mithos did and I can feel some kind of power in his voice... I don't know how to say it!"

_"Home. We're going home."_ Yggdrasill crooned again, unconcerned with the teens clinging to Caleb, his hand still outstretched. His eyes narrowed slightly and glowed; a similar aura of power enveloped the android and Jazz, Tucker, and Valerie all cried out in surprise as his jacket suddenly came free, sending them all tumbling backwards with the article of clothing in their hands, the Eternal Sword Pin gleaming on the lapel where it rested.

"Home... I'm going home..." Caleb breathed softly, moving forward in the same slow, steady pace that drew him ever closer to the Trial.

"Ack! What happened? His coat just... popped off!" Jazz exclaimed, eyes wide as she lifted the jacket in her hands to stare at it. The Wonder Chef drifted close and reached out to pass a hand over the fabric himself, a frown on his face.

"The Trial's still got the same mana signature as Mithos... as Caleb." he murmured, and stood up, glaring up at the blonde angel, "He's resonating his mana, drawing Caleb to him. If they come in contact, that resonating mana might shake Caleb's soul to pieces. It would do the same to me, if he cared to try."

The aura flared again and Caleb's sleeves slid free, sending Danny and Sam sprawling with matching yelps. The halfa scrambled to push himself up and threw a hand forward, erecting a Ghost Shield to cage the android. "Caleb! Stop! What are you doing?" he yelled, panicking as the redhead finally stopped and simply dropped to his knees, head tilting back to keep his eyes on the hovering angel.

"We've got him trapped now." Sam huffed, getting to her feet and picking up the Wonder Fork herself, "Danny! Keep Caleb in place; don't let him out of your shield!" The halfa gave her a startled look and she shook her head. "The rest of us are gonna whale on that Trial until he snaps out of whatever headcase magic mumbo jumbo it put on him!" she told him and ran back to join the other three teens and the two Heroes with them. In hardly any time at all, beams of light, yellow and crackling white-green and red, lanced through the air and hit Yggdrasill dead-on, making the angel shudder and glare back in a fury.

_"O holy wings, I beg of thee to reveal thy glory. Angel Feathers!"_ Colette's voice rang out as glowing pink-white chakrams raced forward and clipped the other blonde. Danny scrabbled forward, opening a hole in the shield just long enough to let him tumble in. Once inside, he hurried to the android's side, crouching by him and reaching out to put a hand on his arm, concern on his face.

"Caleb? Are you okay?" he asked lamely. Really, there wasn't anything else he could think of saying. What do you say to a guy who just faced his previous life's form, the one person that scared them to death, and narrowly avoided getting... well, he didn't know what Yggdrasill was planning on doing to Caleb, but knowing the angel, it probably wasn't anything good. The android had lowered his head, face shadowed by the fringe of his hair.

"I'm sorry." Caleb whispered, "I thought I had steeled myself enough, but hearing his voice... seeing his face... all my plans and ideas left me." He shook his head slowly. "There wasn't anything I could do... I was... I..." he trailed off and whimpered, hugging himself tightly, "He called me... and I just followed... I can't fight him... I _can't_!"

* * *

Beyond the dome of ectoplasm, the battle raged on. Sam had passed the Wonder Fork on to Wren, choosing to ignore how a true ghost or spirit or whatever he was could hold a solid and real object, and darted in and out of range of the Trial version of Yggdrasill, slashing at his wings each time Valerie, Jazz, Tucker and Colette managed to knock him out of the air. She stole quick glances at the shield every now and then, seeing the faint shadows of Danny gripping Caleb by the shoulders and shaking him, presumably trying to snap him out of whatever spell was put on him.

_"Get away!"_ Yggdrasill hissed and threw his arms out as a ring of holy light suddenly spread out from him to pass over the group, _"Retribution!"_

"Dammit! I'm paralyzed!" Valerie yelled in frustration, falling to her side and curling in pain as everyone else dropped with any of a dozen different ailments crippling them, "S-somebody! _Heal!_"

"On it!" Wren called out, running from person to person with a bowl of something in his hand. He spoon fed a few mouthfuls of stew to the huntress after pulling her mask off and grinned as she uncurled, an expression of surprise on her face as she smacked her mouth to better taste what she'd just eaten.

"What the... are you seriously telling me beef stew just cured paralysis?" she exclaimed incredulously, getting up as Jazz went right back to firing at the Trial. Wren patted her on the shoulder absently, tracking the flight patterns of the winged monster above them.

"It cures everything, that's why I keep some in a sealed container for quick reheating. Stay on the move because I don't have the equipment to make the Ultimate Recipe, and that's the only one that can resurrect you if you get killed. Otherwise, let's hope Caleb pulls himself together soon." he remarked and darted off, the fork strapped to his back and peeking out from under the cloak.

_"Do you fools truly think you can **do** anything to me?"_ the Trial growled, _"I am The Traitor, who exists because one who called himself Hero and Savior turned on those he swore to protect. You are **nothing** against my power, the power of Yggdrasill!"_ He lashed a hand towards the shield of ectoplasm, eyes glowing as his aura shone brighter. _"The other Traitor, come forth! Join with me, my missing soul! Come forth, **Mithos**!"_

Caleb snapped his head up with a sharp gasp, throwing his arms out and knocking Danny aside in the sweep, wings unfolding and flaring on in their bright red glory. Crashing to the floor from the sudden blow, Danny's concentration broke, the Ghost Shield falling around them. He cried out and covered his head before uncurling to look up in dismay. "Caleb! Don't listen to him!" the halfa yelled, the android rising to his feet and lightly pushing off from the ground to hover in the air, "You said it yourself! You're not Mithos!"

"I... I can't... can't... fight him..." Caleb murmured brokenly, wide, frightened eyes gazing down at Danny without truly seeing him, "I'm scared... I'm _scared,_ Raven... I'm sorry...!" The young phantom stared up at him, as if seeing for the first time -without the jacket and sleeves that made up his armored outfit and helped with the illusion of invulnerability- just how _innocent_ Caleb was, despite all the years he existed, all his experiences, all his knowledge.

He was still young deep inside, just like Danny, a kid who got shoved into the role of Hero too early, too unprepared, and got by as best he could while hiding just how scared out of his mind he was. And The Traitor was feeding on that guilt and fear of being just like Yggdrasill...

No. Wait, that was wrong. Caleb was afraid of being like Mithos when Mithos was like Yggdrasill. But Wren said that the android was more like what Mithos should have been, the way he was **before** he went by Yggdrasill.

Caleb turned, deaf to the cries from the rest of Team Phantom to stop, to get back, to get away or attack, anything but what he was doing right then, which was to flutter his wings and float up to the smiling blonde angel with cruel blue eyes and glowing aura of mana. Drawn helplessly towards the Trial, he closed his eyes tightly, whispering pleas of forgiveness for betraying his friends yet again.

_'Lloyd said he didn't trust the world to Mithos, but to Caleb since 'Caleb' had always been there. But he wanted 'Mithos' to live in that world too. What if he didn't **mean** he didn't trust 'Mithos', but actually that he didn't trust 'Yggdrasill'? And 'Caleb' was there because 'Mithos' is the same as 'Caleb', not 'Yggdrasill'!'_

Danny's thoughts and memories all tumbled over themselves as things finally seemed to click, to fall into place and reveal something to him. Something so big and so important and so very desperately needed to save Caleb and get him to face his Trial without falling under its spell.

_'Wren said that Caleb represents what Mithos **should** have been, not what he was when Lloyd fought him; that's why he keeps defending Caleb when the Heroes of Union starts debating on how he's acting. That's why Lloyd forgave him; he realized it too, after his own death.'_

The _Symphonian Cultures_ textbook had passages about both Mithos and Yggdrasill, and even though they were the same person, they were talked about as if they were two different people. What if that was because they **were** two different people?

_'Or, what was it Jazz calls it? Multiple personalities? It's not two people, it's two personalities! Caleb had it wrong; **everybody** had it wrong!'_ Danny stood up as his thoughts raced on, latching onto that epiphany like a lifeline, eyes lighting up with a surge of hope, _'Yggdrasill's the one everyone doesn't want to have back, because **he's** the one ticked off enough to kill the world! Mithos is the original, the hero that wanted to bring peace and save everyone! **That's** the one that's living on as Caleb! **That's** Caleb's personality, **his** soul!'_

"Valerie! Danny! Don't just stand there watching! Fly up there and stop him!" Sam screamed out in frustration as the huntress immediately jumped on her board and shot off to grab Caleb by the arm and pull him back. The jets fired at full power, barely enough to slow down the angelic android as he drew closer to the Trial monster.

_"Join with me, my missing soul, and wreak the vengeance this world deserves for taking those we loved from us."_ The Traitor purred, reaching out and nearly brushing the back of his hand against Caleb's cheek. The redhead flinched, a tiny whimper escaping him. Soft light suffused throughout him, radiating out and flickering apart with every near brush of The Traitor's hand. _"Your mana is mine; it always has been. We are two Traitors with only one goal; destruction of the people who denied us our treasures!"_

"Caleb! Get away from him!" the Wonder Chef cried out, ignoring Colette's gasp of alarm, "Please! Hear my voice! I don't care if Martel gets angry, please, _please_! _Don't let him **touch** you!_"

A blast of ectoplasm, green infused with white, cut through the air, skimmed over Caleb's head by a hair's breadth, and slammed into the Trial's face, knocking him back and setting long blonde hair to sizzling. Caleb flinched away, free hand lifting to shield his eyes as he blinked rapidly, the daze of being under The Traitor's spell falling away and the glow of mana dying back down, returning to him.

"Hey! You're lying! Quit twisting things around, stupid Trial!" Danny snapped, shooting into the air and placing himself square between the redhead and the smoking Trial now writhing in pain and holding his face. Sam and Tucker cheered and turned to high-five each other, Jazz and Wren heaved sighs of relief and Colette exhaled slowly, drooping in the air with a little smile on her face.

"Wh-what?" Caleb mumbled, stunned and still blinking dumbly at the halfa, Valerie clinging to his arm as though doubting he'd stay in his right mind for much longer. "I don't... I don't understand..."

Danny turned in place, grinning at the redhead before flying up to put his hands on his shoulders, the grin turning into a full blown smile. "I get it, Caleb. I finally get it, for real this time, too." he told the android, "You **are** Mithos; you have been all along." He shook his head at the heartbroken expression forming on Caleb's face. "No, no! _Listen_ to me! You're Mithos, but you're **not** Yggdrasill." he clarified. Now Caleb looked bemused.

"There's a difference?" he asked at the same time Valerie did, the two exchanging confused glances before refocusing on Danny. The halfa nodded energetically.

"Yes! I get it! Caleb, off the top of your head, tell me who Mithos was." Danny urged and the android sighed as if this was utterly insane to do.

"He was a half-elven hero of the Kharlan War who fell to madness after the death of his sister and betrayed the Summon Spirits to split the world, create Cruxis, the Chosens and the Crystals, all to resurrect Martel. That's him in a nutshell." Caleb returned dully, "What's your point?" Danny shook his head. "Pardon?"

"You're wrong. That's not Mithos." he corrected and smiled again, "That was Yggdrasill. You're not Yggdrasill." Caleb just blinked at him and Danny laughed. "Mithos was a kid who wanted to bring peace to the world, wanted to save the people living there and do it with his friends, the people he loved. Mithos was offered the chance to live and stay in the world that Lloyd created, but Yggdrasill was the one who said he would repeat his path."

"You're talking like they're two different people." Valerie griped at him, still clutching Caleb's wrist, "The guy's name is Mithos Yggdrasill; so what if he went by his last name while he was rampaging?" Danny turned his smile on her and she reared back, finding herself a little creeped out by it.

"Because it **is** like they were two different people! Jazz said that sometimes a person splits off a whole new personality when something really horrible happens to them." he explained quickly, glancing back to be sure The Traitor was still out of commission, "Mithos was all in one piece until Martel got killed right in front of him; what if **that** was enough to make a new personality to deal with it?" He gestured towards Caleb. "And what if after Yggdrasill was killed, Mithos was the only personality left alive in his soul? That's what Martel gave you, Caleb! She gave you Mithos, not Yggdrasill!" Danny told him enthusiastically, the redhead's eyes widening as though finally understanding what he was saying, "You're Mithos, the kind and gentle Mithos! The Mithos that wanted to keep his friends safe and happy! **That** guy..." He pointed at The Traitor, brows furrowing down as his wide smile got toothy and dangerous, "He's not you, and you're not him. He's that last lingering bit of whatever was caging Mithos... caging **you**... from the people that care about you."

_"Do you honestly believe him?"_ The Traitor sneered, pulling his hands down and glaring at the three in the air through limp blonde hair that draped over his marred face, skin scorched red and burnt, blue eyes pale and cold. _"This miserable little failed attempt at a vessel for your beloved?"_ He stretched out a hand towards Caleb again, lips pulled back in a horrible smile. _"Come to me, Mithos; it won't be so hard to betray these vermin again. Come, and bring the vessel."_

The android coasted forward again, eyes fluttering half-closed as he brushed past Danny, the halfa floating back and holding out an arm to stop Valerie from trying to grab onto the redhead. She glared at him, but Danny simply shook his head, finger lifting to his lips as his eyes remained on the red-haired angel. Against her own volition Valerie followed his gaze as well, waiting with bated breath along with the others down below.

It was as though a spell of a different sort had been cast over them all. Whatever happened now, it was to be the decider. They'd given their all in convincing Caleb who he was, competing against his ingrained beliefs of who and what he was, his fears and guilt and sorrow and anger and every Trial that attempted to beat into him how much he was like the person he feared most. All that could be done now was to see if the words of five teenagers and several long-dead friends were enough to show him the truth.

_"Heh heh heh... Yessss~. Accept the truth of who you are..."_ The Traitor purred, brushing his fingers against the redhead's cheek.

And suddenly Caleb's eyes opened fully, the green glittering bright as a smile spread over his face. "My **name** is _Caleb._ I am a living automated doll built to preserve the knowledge of the world." he remarked cheerfully, "Call me Mithos all you like. It doesn't matter anymore; I **know** who I am and who I'm not." He flew back, snapping his hand forward and tracing out a magic symbol before himself, grinning wider at the wild cheers from Team Phantom at his words. "And I am **not** Yggdrasill!" he declared with more certainty than Danny had ever heard from him. The Traitor gaped at him, blue eyes widening as his wings flapped crazily to put distance between them.

"That's it!" Danny cried out joyfully, pumping his fist into the air, "Caleb! You've got it! That's what everyone was trying to say! They just kept messing it up!" Valerie reached out and smacked at him, trying to get his attention as she shook her finger rapidly at the android. "What? _What?_ We're winning!"

"He's casting a spell _in mid-air!_" the huntress screamed at him.

_"Demonic swords, doom thy prey to everlasting pain!"_ Caleb exclaimed, circle of magic blooming beneath him as blades of black mana and blood-red coloring began materializing around The Traitor. His wings shorted, the bursts of mana flickering and vanishing, dropping the android into a free-fall towards the island. Valerie and Danny immediately dove after him, racing to catch him before the impact.

_"How is this possible? My Soul Resonance should have destroyed you!"_ The Traitor raged, his own magic circle appearing as the sky darkened for a familiar spell.

"Oh no! He's casting _Judgment_!" Colette exclaimed and hurriedly began gesturing over herself, _"O Holy One, thy faithful servant asketh for thy blessing. Honor us with the splendor of thy song."_ She lifted her hands in supplication, determined expression on her face as she watched Caleb fall towards them, the circle of black mana and glowing runes hovering around him as he continued his casting, _"Holy Song!"_ A ring of pink-tinted light washed out over the island, and everyone it touched now had similarly colored feathers drifting around their bodies protectively.

"Oh man. If he crashes, the blast could be enough to break this island into a million little pieces!" Tucker exclaimed, tapping the screen of his PDA and watching a simulation of the impact. He held it up to Sam, Jazz and the Wonder Chef, showing them the video game-like motif of 'Game Over' flashing on the screen. "Not so good for those of us without wings or other ways of flying."

High above, Caleb slammed his hand against the symbol, completing the spell. _"Bloody Lance!"_ The blades all struck the mutilated Trial, barely causing any damage and not even knocking him out of his own spell-casting. The android exclaimed in shock -Why didn't Dark Element affect him? The Trial was Light-based, right?- and yelped as Danny and Valerie caught up and grabbed his arms, straining to reverse his fall and support his weight. "Something's not right!" Caleb cried, staring up at the Trial chanting his own spell, "Dark mana didn't do much damage! But that's impossible! The Traitor is in angel form; angels are Light Element!"

_"Judgment!"_ the Trial declared, throwing a hand down at the group left defenseless on the island. Danny and Caleb echoed cries of alarm, the android pulling himself free and reactivating his wings to shoot back to the rest of the team, the two ghost hunters following him quickly, racing to beat the beams of holy light raining down on them.

Danny got there first, lifting his hands as Sam grabbed Colette's hand and pulled her along, darting to get close to the halfa while the others did the same. The ecto-shield spread down from overhead, a cascade of glowing green ectoplasm that washed over them just as the first wave of the light beams hit. They splattered to nothing against the dome, Colette uttering a little 'Ooh!' of surprise at the sight.

"What about Caleb and Valerie?" Jazz demanded of her brother, the teen half-ghost panting from his impromptu race and the exertion of trying to support the heavy android.

"If they can hurry back without getting hit by the rest of the spell, I can lift the dome to let them in." he replied breathlessly, "Til then, they're on their own."

* * *

Valerie swerved and banked hard, crouched low on her board as she dodged the rain of _Judgment_, teeth clenched tight. The beams were coming in randomly and it was hard for her hover board to calculate and predict where the next beam would hit, light clipping the metal edges with each close call made. She could see the dome of green ghost energy below her; if she could reach it, she'd be all right.

Caleb went straight for it as well, and had a better time of evading _Judgment_ thanks to his mana sensors. It was almost cool watching him twist one way and another, spinning and rolling out of the way. Valerie wondered just how he was controlling his dive, though. Wings like his weren't exactly shaped for sharp turns from a fall. She cried out at the sight of a beam shooting straight at him from behind.

"Look out!" the huntress yelled out in warning just as the light slammed into the android, sending him spiraling out of control, limbs and body slack as the red mana wings flickered and went out. Another beam skimmed past her head, and she flinched at the near burning sensation that ran along above her ear from where it just grazed her. Valerie refocused on making it safely back to the island; she wouldn't do anyone any good if she was hit full-on by that spell. Caleb didn't have far to fall himself, crashing onto the stone floor and cracking its surface as he lay there on his side. Was he offline? Was he just stunned? She couldn't tell.

By the time she reached his side, the dark sky had faded, _Judgment_ had ended and the green dome of the Ghost Shield had lifted, giving the others the chance to rush forward and help her. Valerie had staggered as she stepped off her board, head still stinging and throbbing, but she made her way to Caleb and knelt by him as the android pushed himself up to all fours and shook his head slowly to clear off dust and debris.

"Are you okay?" she asked uncertainly, glancing up to see Danny Phantom already moving into place over them to keep them covered with blasts of the Ghost Ray. The Traitor flitted back and forth, almost like he was skating in the air, dodging the beams of white-green light but making no attempts to get closer to them.

"Yeah..." Caleb returned, pushing himself over to sit properly and rub at his right shoulder with a wince, "That spell hit harder than I'm used to, but I got a weird reading off of it." He looked up at his Trial with a frown. "Something's not right about The Traitor. It may be why my spell didn't affect it the way I thought it would."

He blinked in surprise when Tucker dumped his jacket and sleeves into his lap and looked up to see the concerned faces of Team Phantom. "The Traitor stripped your armor off when we tried to hold you back from him." Jazz told him and looked to Colette and the cloaked figure beside her. Wren gave the little blonde angel a silent nod and Colette slipped the Wonder Fork from his back before presenting it to the android. "What happened? With him trying to lure you to him, I mean." Caleb took it into his hand, peering up at the disguised chef warily before glancing away and up at the two airborne figures battling above them.

"He said it was called a Soul Resonance. I assume he was trying to do that to **my** soul, get it to disperse and render me lifeless again." he muttered and stood up, concern growing on his face, "What is he...?"

There was a flash of light, Danny cried out in pain, and the group scattered as the halfa came shooting down from above, slamming into the cracked floor of the island where Caleb had landed and gouging out the crater that Tucker had predicted. Thankfully it wasn't enough of an impact to shatter the battlefield. Within seconds, Team Phantom was rushing in to see how he was, Caleb bounding over quickly after stuffing the loose jacket and sleeves into his pack where it lay almost forgotten on the floor.

"Gah! What the heck kind of attack was that?" Danny coughed out as he sat with Sam and Tucker's help. He rubbed at his head, glaring up at the Trial Monster as it came fluttering down to meet them. Yggdrasill was gonna be a bit tougher to beat than he thought, if that weird dome of light thing was any indicator. It wasn't like _Incineration_, it didn't have that kind of light or burning power, but it was pretty forceful.

"You don't look too injured. That's good." Caleb sighed in relief, reaching out to place a hand on his head. Danny blinked at him, surprised, then lifted an eyebrow at the lack of armor on the android's part. The redhead looked puzzled, then caught on, frowning. "We're in a battle; I don't exactly have time to redress." he muttered and darted aside, catching The Traitor's attention as he moved.

_"Decided to abandon your friends now? If you had done so earlier, I might have considered sparing your life!"_ the other angel snarled, shooting right at Caleb with one hand lifted for the attack that had downed Danny, _"Death Eater!"_ Caleb simply held his arms up, gripping the Wonder Fork as a bubble of green mana bloomed around him, weakening the blow and sending the android sliding backwards on his feet.

"Now's the time to pile into him!" Wren exclaimed with a vicious smile, "Caleb's keeping the Trial's attention on himself; the rest of us can attack Yggdrasill while he's distracted!" Valerie hoisted up her rifle with a growl, aiming at the Trial now pounding its fists furiously onto the android's shrinking bubble. Colette nodded and fluttered aside, hands lifting as she started her soft prayers, holy white light shining beneath her and glowing pink feathers drifting around her.

"But I don't get it. How are we supposed to do much damage to that thing if Caleb said angels are Light Element and we're using that in our weapons?" Sam grumbled under her breath as she stood and unsheathed her knife again, "C'mon, Danny! Let's give him some cover so he can actually **do** something!" Tucker took up a stand beside Valerie, both of them firing as rapidly as they could at Yggdrasill to provide cover for Sam and Jazz running after the Trial.

Danny looked around quickly, trying to track where everyone was in the battle while trying to shake off the feeling that there was something seriously wrong here. Wren was standing by Colette, a circle of light at his own feet as the cloak ruffled around him. He blinked at the sight, startled. _'Didn't know that he could cast magic too. I thought he could only fight with cooking...'_ Danny thought and then shook his head, _'Of course. If he started to fight with food, then Caleb will recognize him. And he **did** say that he had magical power, right?'_

Well, if he did, it was kind of weak -or maybe it was that he didn't use it as often?- because all Wren could do was cast _Fireball_ or _Photon_. Colette sent out another wave of her holy magic, buffing everyone up again, and Danny gave her a grin of thanks before flying off to fire a few blasts of the Ghost Ray at the Trial.

"We've got him covered now!" Jazz declared with a laugh, pounding and punching away at Yggdrasill's unprotected back as he focused on lashing blades of light at Caleb's rapidly shrinking bubble of mana. "If we can just...!"

_"Death Eater!"_ the Trial suddenly exclaimed, lifting both hands into the air with a glowing light radiating from them. He slammed them against the ground before Danny even had the chance to cry out a warning or put up a shield and that dome of white light ballooned outward, knocking everyone backwards and shattering what was left of Caleb's shield.

"Oh no! I'm sorry! I should have tried harder to ask for a stronger _Holy Song_!" Colette exclaimed, hands flying up to her cheeks.

Danny felt the world spinning around him, making him far dizzier than he liked. He could hear the groans of discomfort and pain from his friends nearby. Whatever the heck that attack was, it was the second time he'd gotten hit by it and the halfa was really hating these sudden introductions to the ground. He wondered idly if Caleb could also use it, then gasped as he remembered the android's shield had broken. Where was he now? Danny scrambled to his feet unsteadily and searched the island, head snapping back and forth as his gaze swept over the field.

There! Caleb lay partially sprawled on the ground, one hand pressed against his head as though trying to cope with a nasty headache. The Trial was advancing on him, chuckling menacingly, hands raised and revving up for another _Death Eater_. Danny scanned each of his friends for help, biting his lip as Colette fluttered to them one after another, pulling them up and steadying them while they stood on unsteady legs. She and Wren were the only ones who had been far enough away to avoid the hit, and he was still standing on the very edge of the battle, glaring at the Trial first, then looking towards the redhead as though he desperately wanted to throw off the cloak and run to help him.

_"Did you honestly think you could defeat **me**? I am the leader of Cruxis, leader of the Desians, the Ancient Hero of the Kharlan War, and the source of your soul!"_ Yggdrasill purred darkly, moving step after step like he had all the time in the world. Caleb pushed himself up, rolled onto his back and simply shuffled backwards, a grimace on his face as he tried to put distance between the two of them. _"You'd be nothing without me. What made you believe you'd redeem yourself in the eyes of the Heroes of Regeneration? After what you did to that pathetic little town?"_

"Hey! I thought I told you to shut up with that!" Danny fumed, shooting in with both fists charged up for a double blast. He swept around the Trial a few times, using his speed to be little more than a black and white blur in an effort to disorient the angel and buy Caleb time to recover. Yggdrasill halted in place, hands still lifted but otherwise not moving, and the half ghost paused in the air to unleash the Ghost Ray on him.

Nothing.

The Trial turned to grin up at him through the stringy blonde fringe covering his eyes, wide grin stretching his face into a horrible mask. _"Ahh, I had hoped this would happen now."_ Yggdrasill sneered, _"How does it feel, boy, to run out of White Quartz at a most crucial moment?"_ Danny stared at him, then looked down at his armlets in horror. All the slots were empty; the only piece of quartz he had in place before this level separated him from the android must have broken during his one-on-one fight with the Trial in the air.

He was unprotected now.

Danny managed a hard gulp, then looked up when the Trial yelled in sudden fury. Caleb had gotten to his feet at last and lunged for the rainbow-winged angel while his back was turned. He held on tightly, one arm wrapped around the blonde's head to blind him even as Yggdrasill raged and flapped around, lifting into the air and thrashing in an effort to shake him off.

"Raven! My bag! Get another White Quartz!" the redhead yelled at him, "Put it on _but don't attack_!" Danny dove for the lonely satchel, then pulled up short to turn his head and stare back at him incredulously. Did he hear that right?

_'Put one on but don't attack? Why?'_ he thought in confusion.

_"Death Eater!"_ the Trial shrieked, diving down and pounding his fists into the floor again. The rush of magical force spread back out, throwing Caleb off his back and slamming him against one of the pillars still standing on the island. Danny reached the pack and dug through it, searching for another quartz as Sam and Valerie recovered first and went straight after Yggdrasill again, roaring in feminine fury as several more fireballs flew after them to hit the angel as well.

"Caleb! He doesn't like Light!" Colette called out, her hands cupped around her mouth, "He looks like Yggdrasill and acts like him and he's got the same spells, but he's not Light!"

The Trial suddenly vanished in a burst of light and reappeared elsewhere on the island in a second burst... right behind Colette. He lashed a hand downward, slicing down her back with a blade of light as she cried out in pain and crumpled to the floor. The Wonder Chef beside her dropped to avoid getting hit as well, and glared up at the angel that had posed as him. Yggdrasill simply sneered down at him. Skidding to a halt, Sam and Valerie both turned back to see her fall, gasping in shock.

"Oh no! Colette!" Jazz cried, staggering over in the Fenton Peeler armor to pick the girl up. The Trial teleported away again, appearing this time behind Tucker, who was on his feet and gripping the PDA in his hands, head snapping back and forth nervously.

"Wh-where'd he go?" he blurted out and grunted when he was stuck down as well, the battered angel just grinning as he floated there.

_"One by one, the little vermin fall."_ Yggdrasill taunted, teleporting away when Danny rushed at the space where he stood, growling angrily with vivid yellow eyes. _"It's to be expected, don't you think, aligning yourselves with a traitor to the world?"_

"She'll be okay, she's just stunned. Same with Tucker." Wren told Jazz as they both stood, the carrot-top with her arms full of unconscious Chosen, "Take them to that pillar there." The chef pointed at one of the pillars closest to the wall with its statues, tapestries and the throne. "It's the best place I can think of that will provide cover until they wake up." Jazz looked first in that direction, then back at him, puzzled expression on her face.

"But can't you just make something that will heal them or wake them up?" she protested and he sighed harshly, jerking his head in Caleb's direction. The android had pulled himself from the broken pillar and was now stalking angrily across the island, fork in hands as he scanned the air and the battlefield for where the Trial would reappear. Jazz looked between the android and the chef's flat expression a few times before realization dawned on her. "Ohhhh~! I get it." she murmured, "You cook and your cover's blown." She said nothing else as they worked together to pull Tucker and Colette to safety, leaving Sam and Valerie to join Danny and Caleb in hunting down the Trial.

* * *

It wasn't supposed to be like this. Danny found himself alternating between fury at the angel taking out Colette and one of his best friends, and a growing panic that this was making the Soulfire run out faster. They were supposed to have had Caleb get over his guilt of being considered a traitor, beat the holy out of the unholy angel Trial and scooped up the last of the Soulfire needed to burn the Book of the Underworld. Instead, they were running down the clock trying to fight this creepy nutcase who kept spamming them with _Death Eater_. What the heck kind of attack was that anyway?

"Ah! Above us!" Caleb suddenly blurted out, turning in place and throwing up the Wonder Fork defensively. Danny threw his own arms out, putting up a shield over himself, Sam and Val that was only half in place when Yggdrasill teleported in and slammed his palm down in the midst of them.

_"Death Eater!"_ he yelled, and the dome of energy raced out to hurl the four of them back and away. The teens tumbled away in pain, crying out as they hit the ground and slid along it, loose debris digging into their backs and limbs. Caleb rolled the other way, tumbling along head over heels before finally stopping himself by digging his fingertips into the floor, clawing trenches into the stone with one hand before he could slide right over the edge of the island. Despite everything he'd been through, he kept the Wonder Fork tightly gripped in his right hand, clinging to it as though it would destroy him to let go.

Growling, the android unfurled his own wings, red mana flaring out once the metal attachments slid free. Just as he was rising -and Danny managed to sit up in time to watch with a horrified expression-, Yggdrasill teleported behind the android and lashed out to grab one of the wing extensions, violently ripping it off of Caleb's body and sneering while the android cried out in pain.

By the pillar, Wren and Jazz's heads snapped up and over to see what just happened, and both their jaws dropped at the sight of the Trial floating behind the android, Caleb dropping to the floor with only one wing and the other now little more than crushed and broken metal in Yggdrasill's hand. "Oh no! His wings!" Jazz exclaimed worriedly, scrambling to her feet, "We've got to go help! If he can't get airborne, Danny's on his own in aerial combat! We gotta defeat the Trial **now**!"

Danny had the same idea; too dizzy to fly, he stumbled towards the two angels on the precipice of the floating battlefield, desperate to reach them and fire a Ghost Ray at the Trial to chase him off.

And in the same moments that Jazz, Wren and Danny all moved to help the redhead, Yggdrasill teleported again, this time appearing right before him. Still cringing in pain, Caleb looked up at him, expression shifting to a mix of confusion and disbelief when the Trial just smiled at him, a smug and self-satisfied little smirk.

_"And this is how you end, Caleb; as a miserable dog fallen from grace."_ the blonde purred, reaching out and placing his open hand against the redhead's chest. Caleb's breath hitched, eyes widening... and then the Trial pushed him back, right over the edge of the island.

_"Caleb!"_ Danny screamed out in horror, hopes plummeting like a lead weight in the ocean as he watched the android vanish over the edge, Wonder Fork and solitary wing and all, one hand reaching out as if hoping someone would grab him and pull him to safety. He slowed down, stood there in shock while Sam and Valerie sat up and looked around in a daze, and wondered what they were going to do now. _'Caleb's the only one who could defeat this guy... Without him, we're done. It's all over...'_ He hung his head, then lifted it to glare at the blonde Trial now floating towards him with that same smile. "Oh, what are **you** sneering at?" the halfa growled, "Just because we're stuck in this level doesn't mean I'm handing myself over to you and that stupid Nebilim."

_"Foolish child. Now that the Fallen Angel is gone, there's no need for bargaining with you anymore..."_ Yggdrasill purred as he drew closer.

* * *

"No~! He can't fly with just one wing!" Jazz cried once the shock of seeing Caleb tip backwards over the edge waned enough for her to think again, "Adam, we have to **do** something! We have to-!" Her arm was pulled back by the chef, the blonde glaring over at the Trial now approaching her little brother.

"Caleb will be fine as long as he has the Wonder Fork in his hands." the Wonder Chef returned with a slight tremor in his voice, "And if he will just get over this stupid idea that he's 'not allowed' to use it, then he'll be able to truly protect this world I love."

_"I'm not sacrificing myself for anything!"_ Danny raged suddenly, drawing attention back to the center of the of the island. The ghost boy was struggling in the grips of the Trial, the angel attempting to lift him off the floor. "Let go of me! Sam! Anyone! Help!" he cried, trying to jerk his wrists out of Yggdrasill's hands. The Goth and huntress scrambled to their feet in alarm as Tucker and Colette both roused themselves and looked around blearily.

"Oh... what's happening?" the Chosen groaned softly, hands reaching up to rub her head gingerly.

"Danny!" Jazz cried, lifting her arm to point the Fenton Peeler at the Trial, unsteadily aiming for Yggdrasill. She paused when the young chef beside her suddenly stepped forward and lifted one hand to face the two currently struggling with one another before them. Fingers splayed open, a familiar sigil began to trace itself before his palm, written in the air in glowing white and red. Startled, Jazz glanced downward and saw a much larger circle of light at Wren's feet, luminously bright with the same colors tracing out runes. When both were complete, he began to speak.

_"Goddess of the hearth and home, I call upon thee."_ the Wonder Chef intoned grimly, and Jazz gave him a puzzled look. What spell started with that as its incantation? Caleb never said anything like that before... _"Eternal Mother..."_

"Aaaah! Hit the dirt! He's got _Incineration_!" Jazz screamed out and fled back to Tucker and Colette, the other blonde in the group helping the boy sit up and clear his head. The Trial whipped his head around with an expression that was half horror and half fury at this change of events.

_"**What?** But the Wonder Chef was never able to cast that spell without the fork in his hands!"_ Yggdrasill protested, gripping Danny's wrists even tighter as he started backing away. The halfa laughed harshly, drawing the Trial's attention to him.

"Just goes to show ya," he returned dryly, "straight out copying what Caleb remembers doesn't cut it against the real deal."

_"Unleash thy fury of fire!"_ Wren roared out and gestured towards the Trial with a snap of his fingers, _"Incineration!"_

The dome of fire and light that was beginning to be more and more familiar to Team Phantom -although always as Caleb's personal spell- blossomed outward over the field, using the Wonder Chef as its epicenter. It raged over stone and debris, cracking the floor and destroying everything that stood in its path. White-hot fire and mana burned the island, caught up the screaming Trial and blinded all in its wake.

It felt like forever for the spell to die away, and even longer for everyone's vision to return. And when sight did return to the teens, it was to see Yggdrasill had not been completely defeated. No, that was possible only by Caleb, who was probably reaching terminal velocity towards a bottomless pit now, doomed to forever fall. The Trial had been horribly damaged, though; white suit ripped and shredded, every bit of visible skin now burnt and peeling, head all but bare of a few strands of stringy washed-out blonde hair, wings in complete tatters and missing many vital feathers. Despite that, he was still alive and in a complete **rage**.

He was also pinning Wren to the remnants of the throne room wall by the neck, holding him over the floor as the Wonder Chef gripped his arm in an effort to keep from being strangled, legs kicking about in search of a stable foothold. Beside him was Danny, also pinned by the neck and mirroring the chef in his struggles.

"Danny! Adam!" Colette cried out in alarm as the teens got to their feet unsteadily and began seeking out their personal weapons, ready to attack and rescue their friends.

And paused when a blast of white smoke appeared in the center of the island, billowing out like the smoke had when Wren first appeared on the _FireBlossom_ in Caleb's room. All heads, save for the three near the throne room wall, turned to stare at the cloud of white now clearing, dispersing, to reveal a figure standing there, a giant fork held in one hand and set beside them. Tucker blinked, then pulled out his PDA on a hunch, checking the screen.

"Special Arte gauge is full." he reported quietly.

The smoke faded, and Caleb glared across the field at the mutilated angel choking Danny and Wren into unconsciousness. His eyes flickered over at the taller figure, taking in the sight of a ruined cloak, short blonde hair peeking out from the hood and green clothing flashing into view during the struggling, before returning to glare harder at the back of the Trial's head.

"Excuse me, but **we're** not finished with each other." the android remarked coldly, "Care to give it another try, Yggdrasill? I'm much harder to kill than you ever were..."


	45. Chapter 45

45

The wind rushed by as he fell -_'I didn't fall from grace,'_ he thought, _'I was __**pushed**__.'_- and some inane part of his processes immediately began calculating the distance and speed as he plunged towards the bottomless abyss. Caleb kept his grip on the Wonder Fork even as he stared up at the rapidly receding bottom of that hellish floating island. Was this how he was fated to end? Defeated by the very monster he'd tried so hard to deny, to reject?

_'I wonder, would it have been better if I just became like him?'_ he thought idly. It seemed like it would be easy to do; witness the person he dedicated his life to protecting be murdered right before his eyes and just snap. To hell with everyone else and all that. It worked for Yggdrasill, didn't it? That's why the Trial was still up on that stupid island, laughing his face off, and he was here, racing to his doom at terminal velocity.

_'No, not quite yet. Still got a few yards to go to reach that.'_

Wouldn't it just be that easy?

His wing folded down, concentrating the mana still firing out into a more powerful jet, and tried to slow his fall. Futile, but he couldn't help his sense of self-preservation kicking in even at this moment. After another second, Caleb coldly cut off the jet, retracting his single wing and closing his eyes to prepare himself for the endless fall... only to cry out in shock as he collided with one of the many boulders of rubble sweeping along to that black hole in the distance.

"Oh, come **on**!" the angelic android declared in exasperation, turning in place to grip the rock and look around himself. His hair kept whipping around, nearly blinding him as he was carried aloft and past the central island. Frowning, Caleb tried using telescopic vision to check on how the battle was faring without him, but the chunk of rock was moving too swiftly, his own hair getting in the way and making it impossible to see anything.

With a sigh, he settled himself down on the rock and wrapped himself around the Wonder Fork, enveloping the utensil in a hug and hanging his head in a somber air of defeat. Without his coat with the Eternal Sword Pin on it, he had no way to get back to the battlefield; all his teleporting was done using the Pin, covering it up by claiming the Wonder Fork was responsible when really he'd never used it for more than diverting mana into his crystals for power.

This was it, then. All his efforts, all his hoping for a reunion with the one true Wonder Chef, all of it would be for nothing. What remained now were just his memories of their past; that and this Wonder Fork they forged together...

.

_"Wren, these runes weren't part of the original blueprint for the Wonder Fork." Caleb pointed out in confusion, dwarven tools still in his hands for engraving the charms and spells around both the new mana crystal and the Eru Crystal salvaged from the destruction of the 7,000 year old original. The little blonde chef had thrust a paper in front of him with a grin on his angelic face and asked him to add them to the dark aionite body of the fork._

_"No, but I want them added to our new Wonder Fork anyway." Wren told him cheerfully. Caleb took the paper in hand and read the new charms, analyzing the handwriting told him immediately that Lloyd had penned them for the Wonder Chef. That was a given; Wren couldn't read dwarven language, so he couldn't write it either._

_"Hm. This spell tells the artifact to 'conform to the current strengths of the wielder'. I don't understand; doesn't the Wonder Fork already do that for Wonder Chefs?" the android muttered, absently spinning a chisel in one hand. Wren just grinned wider._

_"I'm expecting a specific kind of wielder to use that." he replied cryptically and laughed when Caleb gave him an unimpressed glare before setting to work on incorporating his dear friend's whim of a spell._

.

Caleb blinked as he pulled away from that memory. It had been a long time since he'd last accessed it and he looked at the Wonder Fork in his grip with just as much confusion as he had when he first engraved that spell into it. What had Wren meant by that, anyway? He frowned, standing up precariously on his chunk of rock and holding the fork out before him in suspicion. Now that he thought about it, didn't the Wonder Fork change with him every time he had an Over Limit Mode activate?

.

_"We can't hold them back without some serious power!" Chester exclaimed in a panic, quickly wiping sweat from his forehead with one arm, his hands busy with nocking another arrow, "Mint! Can't you finish healing Cless any faster?" Behind him and Arche, the young cleric was hurriedly bandaging Suzu's wounds before turning to hold her hand and staff over the fallen swordsman. She whispered the words for a healing spell, and cried in dismay as the glow of magic faded before her palm._

_"I can't! I'm all out of power!" she called back, eyes filling with tears as she turned to the last member of their party, a mysterious redhead who claimed to just be a guide through the forest, "Please, sir! Help us! If you have any magic or skills, help us!" Arche screamed in pain as a manticore pounced her, bringing her down from the air before a flurry of Chester's arrows pierced into its body and killed it._

_A flash of light erupted from the redhead and Caleb shifted into Chosen Mode, the Wonder Fork rising before him and becoming wrapped in pale blue mana that swept outwards from top and bottom to create crescent blade-shaped shields. But this battle was weakening the party of heroes, and they needed healing and support, not pure defense._

_He slid into Savior Mode, his wings no longer venting the green Wind mana but the black Darkness mana instead. The Wonder Fork's shell of mana shattered as well, a new wave of glittering green washing over and wrapping around it to create a staff with a large round sphere on top. It remained hovering before him as he lifted his hands and hovered beside the group, mouth opening to rapid-cast the numerous healing and support spells that would save the six adventurers..._

_._

His breath caught as Caleb clutched the Wonder Fork in both hands now. That couldn't be what he meant, could it...?

On the island, now little more than a pebble in the distance, a brilliant eruption of fire and light caught his attention, and he instinctively set his sensors to analyze the flash. Light and fire... that mana combination could only be _Incineration_, the spell turning the pebble into a blinding star in the warped space. Had the Trial decided to copy the Wonder Chef's spell to finish off the rest of Team Phantom, thinking that would force him into snapping and turning out just like Yggdrasill?

Oh, he'd grieve and feel guilty for the deaths of a group of children, but no. The only way he would become like Yggdrasill is if he had witnessed Wren's murder, if he had been in Murin and not Iselia, and the only reason why he was in Iselia in the first place was because... because...

"Because Wren told me to go." Caleb whispered in shock, swaying in place and nearly falling off his rock in the process. He dropped to one knee, hugging the Wonder Fork like a security blanket as he recalled that day, the day he last saw his best friend alive.

.

_The road split in two, a helpful signpost pointing in either direction with names of towns and distances carved into the wood. Caleb scowled at the worn writing as Wren pulled out his notebook and silently read over the list of ingredients. Behind them, Pepper yawned in boredom and sat down, idly tracing designs into the dirt path._

_"If we go to Murin first, we can get first pick of the fresh meats, but it'll try to spoil on the way to Iselia." Caleb began slowly, calculating the travel routes in his head, "If we go to Iselia first, we'll get first shot at the vegetables, but we'll get waylaid by the Aurion Family." He rubbed at his head with a harsh sigh. "And on top of it all, going to both towns in a single trip would be impossible anyway; the weight limit would be exceeded and Pepper wouldn't be able to carry us **and** the ingredients home!"_

_"Then let's split up." Wren suggested casually, walking up to the automated doll while ripping out part of his notebook. He held out the torn paper between two fingers, smiling up at his friend and servant, "It'll get done faster this way and Pepper won't have to carry as much." Caleb's surprised expression just made him smile wider._

_"But I'm carrying the Wonder Fork for you, like you made me promise to." the redhead returned uncertainly, "How are you going to take all the supplies back home without it?" Wren just waved the half-list at him until he finally took the paper with reluctance. "And how am I supposed to protect you if we split up?" Caleb grumbled as he read over his half, "Ah, not fair! You're sending me to Iselia?"_

_"Don't worry, Caleb, I've got this covered." the chef dismissed airily, waving his hand as though to brush away all concerns. Caleb didn't look convinced. Rolling his eyes, Wren stuffed his hands into his pockets and gazed up at the sign pointing the way to Murin with a wistful smile. A few moments passed in companionable silence, a gentle breeze ghosting over them both while Caleb concentrated on his list of ingredients, index finger resting lightly against his lips as he entered them into his own mental database. Behind them, Pepper settled herself down with an annoyed mumble and dozed off._

_"Caleb." the Wonder Chef finally murmured, and the android pulled away from his work to give him a puzzled look. Wren smiled and stepped forward to slip his arms around the taller figure in a hug, cheek pressed against the soft green fabric of his coat. "I'm so glad to have you as a friend. Ever since I met you, it's been like one long, wonderful adventure." the blonde said quietly, sincerely, "I really wish it would never end, but we both know I'm only human, so to speak."_

_Slowly, Caleb returned the embrace, carefully hugging the smaller man, his own cheek resting on the blonde's head. "It won't end for another few decades at least." he returned softly, "And I'm glad to have you as a friend, too. I feel like I would have been wandering Symphonia aimlessly if not for you. Anywhere you lead, I'll always follow, happily."_

_They stood there for a moment longer, then finally broke apart, grinning at one another._

_"Well, in this case, you can't follow me, okay?" Wren told him and laughed when Caleb just stuck his tongue out childishly. He shouldered his pack and took a few steps towards the road to Murin, then paused and looked back at him. Caleb tilted his head in mild confusion; was there something else his dear friend wanted to say? "One last thing, before we part ways." the Wonder Chef told him with a strangely sad smile, "For all the times you've protected me and the Wonder Fork, when it really counts, let us protect you too. We created it together, so it's only right that we use it together."_

_Caleb just pouted. "For the love of Martel, I keep telling you I can't **taste** anything! The Wonder Fork won't ever work for me if I'm not as skilled as you and I can't get that way without the ability to taste!" he countered in exasperation._

_"You're also everlasting!" Wren called back, "It'll take a long time, but I bet you'll get the hang of it by the time I get reborn!"_

_"Whatever! I'll see you back home in a few days!" Caleb declared cheerfully. Wren only waved, then turned his back on the redhead and walked on, leaving him behind..._

.

The Wonder Fork shook in his grip as Caleb bit back another sob. So... so that was it. He'd known all along that he was going to his death; that was why he said and did all those things in their last few minutes together. That was why he sent him to Iselia; so he wouldn't be in Murin to see him die and spiral down the same path to darkness that Yggdrasill had taken Mithos.

"That's why you split us up that day? To protect me from what I could have become?" Caleb whispered and clutched the fork closer to himself, "And you said... you told me to use this when I had the ability to use it. When I had the cooking skill you did... the skill of a Wonder Chef..."

He lifted his head, tearful eyes narrowing into a glare at the island as the light finally died down. Yes, that's it. The skills of a Wonder Chef, recognized by the Wonder Fork, given access to the ability to manipulate mana and use _Incineration_, and Wren had requested the additional spell to be engraved into it, a spell that customized it to match each one of Caleb's Over Limit Modes; with all that evidence before him, there was only one logical conclusion that could be made.

"No more holding back." Caleb murmured, lifting the Wonder Fork to point at the island as he sifted through his memory and picked out the image he wanted along with the mana signature matching it, "No more denying it. Wren knew it from that very day and I'll take the title he gave me!" And the familiar blast of white smoke erupted around him as he teleported off the rock using the utensil for the first time.

* * *

"Excuse me, but **we're** not finished with each other." the android remarked coldly as he lifted the Wonder Fork and held it in both hands, "Care to give it another try, Yggdrasill? I'm much harder to kill than you ever were..." He ignored the gazes of awe being directed at him from around the battlefield, focusing on the Trial before him with Danny and the cloaked figure in its grips.

For his part, The Traitor slowly lowered his hostages and turned his head to glare at him. The half-ghost sucked in air too quickly, too greedily, and coughed after choking on that first lungful, his mystery companion doing the same beside him.

"Tucker!" Jazz prodded suddenly at the technophile sitting beside her. He snapped out of his stare and looked up at her in confusion, "Adam gave you access to Caleb's spell list, right? Turn off all his Dark Element ones!"

"Okay..." Tucker muttered, tapping at the screen of his PDA to change menus. He scrolled through, touching each spell that had a Dark symbol beside them until he came across the final three spells at the bottom of his normal list, _Forsaken_, _Incineration_ (which was grayed out for some reason), and the final space was just full of question marks. "Huh, okay so we know that Caleb can't use _Incineration_ unless he fulfills the requirements for it, so that explains the gray." he mused aloud, tapping the stylus against the final space, "But this spot here used to say 'Spell Locked'. It's unlocked now, so why can't we use it?"

Colette crawled over to peer over his shoulder at the screen, blue eyes wide and blinking all too innocently before she sat back and frowned a little. "It needs him to trigger another spell first." she told him, "That's how it's always been with us. To fully unlock a spell or skill, we must use the basic version of it first." She lifted one of her chakrams, the smooth yellow ring glinting in the light of the warped space. "Um, it's like when I learned how to do the _Triple Ray Thrust_. I was using my usual _Ray Thrust_ and, suddenly, this extra surge of mana went into it to make two more rings. _Triple Ray Thrust._" she finished and shrugged a little.

"So if this unknown spell is underneath _Incineration_ on the list, and upgraded spells are stronger than the ones that unlock 'em..." Tucker began with a sense of dread. Jazz looked up at Caleb with wide eyes, shrinking back from the android.

"Then whatever it is will be unlocked the next time Caleb uses _Incineration_, and be even **more** powerful than a localized nuclear bomb!" she exclaimed, hands flying up to the faceplate of her helmet.

_"So the Fallen Angel decided he'd had enough of falling, hm? How amusing."_ Yggdrasill purred, turning around and dragging both hostages with him, hands still tight around their necks. The two of them still gripped the mutilated angel's hands, trying to pry them off and only getting enough wiggle room to be able to twist around and face the redhead. Danny gasped again upon seeing him and dared a glance over at Wren, wincing at the sight of the tattered cloak and hood that wasn't doing the job of hiding him as well as before.

"This isn't looking good for us!" he managed to squeak out.

"Tch! It hasn't looked all that great since the day before I died!" Wren growled back, "But we might still have a chance; he used the fork to teleport back here after all!"

Caleb spun the Wonder Fork in one hand at his side, gazing coolly back at his Trial, seemingly unaffected by the use of his hated title. On a whim, Tucker touched on the android's status tab in his PDA, then tapped the Title option. "Let's see. 'Fallen Angel: One who has strayed from the path of life and justice. A title for those without redemption.'" he read and flinched, "Man, that's really harsh!"

"You're going to let those two go now, Yggdrasill." the android said calmly, "And then you're going to be a good little Trial, and let me kill you so we can move on." From where they stood, Valerie and even Sam gave little shudders at the way he spoke. "We've wasted plenty of time indulging you and Nebilim with this farce, but I've had quite enough of you desecrating my precious memories."

The burned angel simply laughed, a dark and unearthly cackling that made Danny's hair rise on end, glowing green eyes almost popping out of his head. _"Oh? And what makes you think you can fight me when I have your two most precious treasures in my hands, Fallen Angel?"_ Yggdrasill returned smugly. Caleb frowned, glaring at the Trial again.

"Stop calling me that. I have a proper title, one that was given to me by my best friend but that I hadn't realized I possessed until you shoved me off this miserable rock." he shot back and halted the fork, lifting it with a proud smile, "I am the Everlasting Wonder Chef!"

Tucker's PDA chimed and he blinked down at the altered status screen. "Hey, it actually changed on its own!" he exclaimed in surprise, "'Everlasting Wonder Chef: Skills honed through countless eras as the world evolves around him. A title for the chef that will last forever.' And... hey!" The tabs on the screen shifted around, bringing him back to the spell list, the words scrolling by in a blur until they reached the bottom three. The gray letters spelling out _Incineration_ suddenly glowed a brilliant white, pulsing with light.

"That's it! We need Caleb's _Incineration_ to defeat this Trial once and for all!" Jazz exclaimed in realization, "Before, he could only use it with the Wonder Fork if he fulfilled the requirements. Now that he's a Wonder Chef too, he can use it anytime he wants!"

"You just **said** that him using it will unlock something way nastier than _Incineration_!" Tucker blurted out, throwing his arms up in exasperation. She mirrored his actions, leaning down towards him.

"It's either that or we all die and Danny gets possessed by the King of Demons to unleash endless horrors on Amity Park and the world!" the carrot-top retaliated in a panic.

_"You can't claim that title for yourself!"_ Yggdrasill roared out, hurling Danny aside without caring for the fact that he was the prize Nebilim wanted. The halfa yelled out in alarm, waving his arms around as he ended up colliding with Jazz, Tucker and Colette, the four of them winding up in a bruised heap against the broken pillar. Caleb bristled, eyes going to the teens in silent questioning. They groaned collectively and Jazz managed to sit back up, bringing her younger brother along to check his throat before nodding at the android. He relaxed then, turning his attention back to the Trial before him. _"There can only ever be one Wonder Chef active at any time! There's already-!"_

"Ah!" Colette cried out in shock and jumped to her feet, wings flaring out as holy power rose around her, hands tracing out sacred gestures over her heart, _"O Holy One, thy faithful servant asketh for thy blessing. Honor us with..."_

"Wait, try a Special Arte! It's louder!" Tucker blurted out from the pile.

_"...a special... uh..."_ Colette blinked as her spell-casting faltered, the holy power flailing around to match her confusion before shooting up into the sky, "Oops. Oh no, I did it again!" The familiar ring of magic raced out from around her, draping everyone in the shimmering pink-white feathers of _Holy Song_. Sam was the first to notice this wasn't a normal version of the angel spell, eyes lifting to watch the spiraling mana that shot into the air, darkened the sky, and now came raining back down.

"It's _Judgment_!" she exclaimed, the beams of light slamming down around Caleb, the Trial and the still cloaked Wonder Chef. Yggdrasill jerked around, trying to avoid being hit and yanking his lone hostage about. A stray beam finally slammed into him and the mutilated angel hurled the cloaked figure away from himself, recoiling in pain as his leg smoked, flesh blackened by the Light Element spell.

When the darkened sky finally returned to normal and the clouds of dust stirred up by the storm of light beams dissipated, Team Phantom was able to see the Trial leaning heavily on one leg, Caleb still standing some distance from him and staring down at the floor between them, where Wren lay sprawled, the hood and cloak torn enough to reveal his identity once and for all. Colette gasped, hands covering her mouth as her eyes went wide.

This was **exactly** what everyone had been trying to do; prevent the meeting of Caleb and the real Wonder Chef. Danny pushed himself up, rubbing gingerly at his throat, cringing at the events unfolding before him. What was going to happen now? How was Caleb going to take this?

Wren stared up at the redhead as well, frozen in place and utterly silent. The only sounds around the battlefield were the eerie howls of wind rushing towards the distance and the shifting of debris as they tumbled down from damaged objects. Despite the pain he was in, Yggdrasill just smiled widely, victoriously, certain that he'd destroyed some vital plot that required the separation of the two. Surely with the realization of this ultimate betrayal, the android would be easy to eliminate and Nebilim would have the vessel required to escape the Book.

After what seemed like forever, Caleb raised an eyebrow, an unimpressed expression on his face. "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." he remarked coldly, lowering the Wonder Fork to tap it just under Wren's chin, the blonde inhaling sharply at the contact, "This is a rather pretty fake, Yggdrasill. Too bad the mana signature is unreadable; Nebilim couldn't be bothered to insert himself into this illusion or something?"

"Oh, that's even worse." Danny whispered, flinching at the words. Had they convinced Caleb so well that he rejected the real Wren at first sight? What could be going through the man's mind now?

_"**That's** the True-Blood Wonder Chef, you miserable dog! That's the little vermin you murdered an entire town in revenge for!"_ the Trial raged in disbelief and frustration. Caleb glared up at him even as he reached down to grab the chef by the collar, dragging him up to his feet carelessly.

"This? This is just another pathetic _joke_." he hissed in return and shoved the blonde aside, tossing him like he was nothing more than an empty Starbucks cup, "I'm bored with seeing his face be used like that." Danny flew over to his side, helping the battered chef sit up as they watched Caleb take a sudden menacing step towards Yggdrasill. "Let's see something new, Traitor." Another step. "Come on. I'm the Everlasting Wonder Chef." Step. "Show me your recipe for my demise." Step. "_Impress_ me."

With every slow, ominous step the android took towards Yggdrasill, the Trial shuffled backwards one step as well, quaking in place as he glared furiously back. Sam and Valerie darted across the field, falling into place beside Danny and Wren and watching their guide intimidate the one person he had been so utterly terrified of just a short time ago; it felt like ages, but a check of her watch told Sam they'd only been in battle for about ten minutes or so.

"I know I changed my file in him so he wouldn't recognize me or care that your ectomana matches mine, Danny," Wren murmured shakily, clutching his arms as he shivered, a hurt expression on his face, "but I never imagined it would be so _painful_ to have him just look at me like I meant nothing."

"There isn't anything we can do about that." Valerie pointed out helplessly, hands raised as she shrugged, "Martel said you two can't meet like this, so it's probably best that he thinks you're one of Nebilim's fakes."

"Caleb! Just finish him off!" Jazz called out from her place near the only standing pillar left on the field, waving her arms wildly over her head, "He doesn't like light so use _Incineration_ on him!"

Yggdrasill looked around himself quickly, bared his teeth at the encroaching android, then suddenly disappeared in a small burst of light; a teleport. Startled, Caleb blinked and immediately started scanning the field to find him, spinning around to check on the ghost boy's condition. Might as well cast a healing spell too. He lifted the fork again, reciting the incantation for _Revitalize_ just as his sensors alerted him to the Trial reappearing behind Danny, hand raised to perform another _Death Eater_ attack. His eyes widened even as his mouth finished the last of the spell, unable to call out a warning to the group huddled around the halfa.

But the blonde he had shoved away, the new fake that had somehow snuck into the group and he had allowed to stay with them when it was disguised since it hadn't made any active attempts on them, reacted almost instantly, lunging for Danny and throwing them clear as Yggdrasill's hand came down and unleashed the dome of mana that sent the teens flying again. A sickening crack sounded as Yggdrasill teleported out of sight again and Caleb froze in place, watching as Danny squirmed out of the blonde's arms and hurriedly began shaking his shoulders, crying out to him in a panic. When the Trial reappeared, this time directly behind the halfa, he snapped out of his stupor and lifted the Wonder Fork, spinning it over his head with one hand.

"Yggdrasill! The Traitor! Whatever name you want to call yourself!" Caleb yelled in a fury, "I told you to show me something **new**, not the same damn thing over again! You're supposed to attack **me**! I'm the Trial-Taker!"

"Do it! Use _Incineration_! Hurry!" Jazz called out while Tucker gave his PDA a hard stare, debating whether it was going to activate the hidden spell instead. His stylus was still gripped tightly between his fingertips, watching the final space with all its question marks, waiting for it to miraculously become the last spell.

"Adam said to tap it when I want him to cast a different spell. If he starts using _Incineration_, and it unlocks the next spell, then maybe I can interrupt it and force him to use the new one." he muttered and licked his lips. The timing was going to be everything; _Incineration's_ cast time was fast, considering it had a short incantation.

"Hold him down!" Sam yelled, scrambling to her feet and racing for the Trial, Valerie hot on her heels, "I bet he can't teleport with extra people on him!" Danny turned in place, saw the mutilated angel leering down at him and promptly raised a shield over himself and the dazed blonde. Both the Goth and the huntress leaped at him, clinging to Yggdrasill's arms or legs, whichever was closest, and shut their eyes, hanging on for dear life as the Trial raged and fluttered about on ruined wings in an effort to shake them off.

"Now, Caleb!" Valerie yelled, clutching the angel's leg. She grit her teeth against the pain of being dragged over the rubble-covered floor, her suit catching and tearing on sharp edges that exposed her skin to the dirt and debris.

And that was where all the players were on the battlefield when it all came down to it.

Danny Phantom and the True-Blood Wonder Chef, protected by the dome of ectoplasm.

Sam Manson and Valerie Gray, weighing down The Traitor with their own bodies to prevent him from using his flight and teleportation.

Colette Brunel, Jazz Fenton and Tucker Foley, huddled by a broken pillar with a single stylus hovering over an unknown spell.

Caleb, standing in the center of the island with the Wonder Fork spinning above him, unaware of the magic about to be unleashed from within him.

_"Eternal Mother..."_ the angelic android began intoning, and Tucker panicked when the row of question marks began glowing at the same time the space for _Incineration_ began flashing.

"Ack!" the technophile yelped, twitching just enough for the stylus to drop and touch that unknown row. It flashed in place of the previous spell, and Caleb gasped sharply, yanking the Wonder Fork down and over the center of his chest, the circle of light at his feet flickering and going out. "No! What happened?" Tucker exclaimed in dismay, hands going up to his head.

A shimmering glow passed over the android, rippling upwards from his feet to his head. "Installation complete!" Caleb suddenly announced and thrust the Wonder Fork straight into the air, waving it in slow circles as though it were a wand of some kind, the light returning to trace out the runes at his feet, growing out into the familiar circle for _Incineration_.

Yggdrasill paused in his thrashing, breathing hard and glaring at the redhead, teeth bared and snorting in the manner of a feral beast. _"Go ahead and try that spell again."_ he hissed, _"I survived it once, I'll do it again! And while you're still frozen in its stance, I'll rip your mechanical heart out and offer it to Lord Nebilim as a gift!"_

His eyes were closed as he continued waving the fork above himself, waiting until the circle of light-drawn runes was complete before beginning the incantation for the newly installed spell. _"Goddess of the hearth and home, I call upon thee."_ Caleb began, his voice carrying over the whole island as the sky darkened to pitch black, _"Eternal Mother, unleash thy fury of fire."_

The circle of runes spiraled outward, forming three smaller circles of runes that spun around perimeter of the central one, magical wind rushing over the battlefield as all eyes went straight to the floor, wide with awe and horror and shock as every being realized that this was not going to be a normal _Incineration_ casting. The smaller circles generated mana, glowing white and burning red, flickering like flames straining to grow higher.

Caleb lowered the Wonder Fork, sweeping it downwards as he half-bowed towards the Trial. _"This is the power of the Wonder Chef's heart..."_ he went on and opened his eyes at last, locking gazes with Yggdrasill's, the mutilated angel's face expressing disbelief that this was happening. _"Your goose is cooked!"_ Caleb yelled angrily and suddenly leaped up, swinging the fork back over his head to catch the swirls of light and fire mana that shot up from each of the three small rune circles. They spun around the Wonder Fork's tines, the utensil glowing brilliantly.

_"Incineration...!"_ Caleb howled furiously and lashed the Wonder Fork down, slamming the ball of mana into the center of the island, _"...**Flambé**!"_

The only sound now was the roar of the spell, a dome of light and fire spreading out from the impact point with raging flames spiraling around and throughout it, spreading hundreds of miniature explosions of light, a thousand tiny suns bursting into existence and dying, only to be reborn. The android was nothing more than a shadowy figure caught in its center, suspended by the spell's power as it washed over everyone on the island, consuming what was left of the pillars and tapestries and ruined throne room wall. Chunks of rubble that survived were blasted clear of the island, flames of light and fire licking at them before flickering out.

It spread out and over the island, swallowing it whole before twisting in place, changing from dome of light to vortex of fire, whirling into itself before finally exploding into a mushroom cloud of red and white, accented by the loud snap of a defeated monster. And then all was silent again.


	46. Chapter 46

A/N: Hey there, it's been a while. The weather hadn't been kind to me this winter, and only recently has it warmed up enough to let me feel my fingers move. So I've been bouncing from fic to fic, finishing up and updating what I can. Pokemon Colosseum is complete, so no more fics there. Sorry guys. Netherworld Nightmare and Burning Black are both my next targets. Also, I've been writing a text adventure game called _System Restore_ starring our favorite angelic android. I'm hoping to have enough of it finished that I can put out a demo. Anyway, on to adventure!

When we last left off, Caleb had returned with a vengeance after Yggdrasill shoved him off the floating island battlefield. Using his new title of the Everlasting Wonder Chef, Caleb unleashed the final Special Arte Wren had coded for him, the _Incineration Flambé_, and defeated his Trial. Now he must deal with the aftermath of all he's done...

* * *

46

Sam groaned softly as she shifted in place, one arm haphazardly thrown over her head. Dust and pebbles tumbled from her shoulders and hair when she pushed herself up, staying in place until the wave of dizziness passed. She lifted a hand and carefully pressed it against her head. It throbbed like a headache was receding, but otherwise there was no injury. Her arms and legs were horribly scratched and bleeding from several larger cuts.

"Ugh... that was worse than waking up after Undergrowth's little eco-romp through Amity Park." she groaned and finally dared to look around herself. Nearby was Valerie, stretched out with her suit somewhat in one piece, cheek pressed against the ground. Sam sighed and reached out, shaking the other girl by the shoulder. "Hey, wake up." she called out, pulling back when the huntress groaned and jerked in place.

Satisfied that Valerie would pick herself up now, Sam turned her attention to the rest of the decimated island. The floor was pretty much gone now; the only places where the stonework still existed was directly beneath every member of Team Phantom and under Danny's ghost shield. Anything else had been leveled or disintegrated in the blast.

Speaking of Danny... Sam got to her feet unsteadily and shambled over to collapse against the green dome of ectoplasm, pounding her fists on it as she slid to her knees, ignoring the new cuts in her stockings that resulted from her fall. Within the shield, the halfa was curled up in a ball, trembling beside the tattered remains of her black cloak. The Wonder Chef was nowhere within that protective dome.

"Martel must have taken him back as soon as the Trial was defeated." the Goth mumbled and spoke louder, "Danny! It's clear now! Get up!" The boy jerked in response, then lifted his head, blinking up at her. After a moment, the shield fell away and he stretched out, wincing a little and looking around.

"Where's...?" he trailed off when Sam touched his shoulder warningly and reached out to pick up the cloak instead. Danny looked up again, sucking in his breath sharply at the sight of his friends all scattered around the island. They were picking themselves up as well, slowly, carefully, taking stock of any injuries they may have incurred during the battle. Most of the throne room wall was gone now, but the throne itself remained in place. Caleb was slumped against it, half on the floor and half on the seat of the throne itself, face hidden by his arms and hair.

It looked like he'd just collapsed there out of grief.

"He's okay!" Tucker suddenly called out, as if reading Danny's mind and answering the question he had yet to ask, "I just checked his processes; they're in the middle of a reboot sequence." The techo-geek stumbled his way over to them and held up his PDA to show the scrolling text to Danny. "See? That beefed-up _Incineration_ spell must have drained a ton of mana from him. He's switching over to his backup crystal."

"Nothing on that screen makes any sense to me." Danny sighed in exasperation. He looked around again, unsure of why he was doing so when the idea finally struck him. "Hey. If Caleb beat the Trial, where's the memento for him?" he asked suddenly. With Sam and Tucker following, the halfa floated around the island, checking on his sister and Valerie to be sure they were okay and searching around for any sign of some weird thing that could be called a memento. The only thing they found was the fragment of metal wing that the Trial had torn from Caleb's back. Danny picked it up, wincing at the sight of the metal near its base; crushed together and bent, it refused to budge in any way, leaving the long and slender extensions open.

"Oh, here's how the mana shoots out to make his wings." Tucker remarked suddenly, reaching out to trace his finger along the underside of each engraved 'bone', "There's a bunch of tiny pipes running through here. When he fires the mana, it's forced through those and becomes the sets of 'feathers'. The ones that keep him airborne are the ones that wrap around the actual extensions, and the others support those." He trailed his hand down and tapped at the small knob at the other end of the crushed portion. "This is part of a joint, which lets the wing move around freely, like our arms. This would have been connected to Caleb's back." he finished and grimaced a little, "Yggdrasill just yanked it right out of the socket. That's like having something pull your arm straight out of your shoulder. No wonder he screamed."

"I really didn't need that mental image." Danny sighed, lightly gripping the disconnected wing in both hands before turning to float over to the fallen android. Tucker and Sam glanced at each other before following, the former keeping an eye on the PDA screen while the latter carried the fallen satchel with the rest of Caleb's clothing still stuffed within.

"When's he waking up? The level isn't really complete until he gets his memento." Sam asked to break the awkward tension around them.

"He should be coming around right about... now." Tucker remarked just as Caleb gave a little jerk of his shoulders and groaned miserably.

"Ohhh... what the hell did I just do~?" the angel moaned, refusing to lift his head. He shifted his legs a little, testing to be sure they could move. "I feel like sleeping for a couple of decades. Go away~." The teens laughed at his words and he finally looked up at them blearily. "I wasn't joking." Caleb grumbled and cradled his face in one hand, "Geh... my head... my wings... one wing... Why do I feel so exhausted?"

"You don't remember that Special Arte you did?" Tucker asked worriedly, "It was pretty freaking sweet! You started off with casting _Incineration_, but I accidentally triggered a secret spell from your list and you ended up doing a super-sized version of it." Caleb lifted his face from his hand to give him a surprised look before his gaze shuttered, eyes glowing brightly while he processed the information.

"Ah, there it is. The file got a little damaged, but I was able to recover the data." he commented and then blinked again. "How was I able to do **that**?" Caleb exclaimed in shock, "I don't have records of a spell like that being installed in me until just a few minutes ago! Where did the programming come from?"

The teens glanced at one another worriedly before finally giving him a collective shrug. It was set up by the Wonder Chef but they had sworn not to say anything about him. So they fell back on the usual teenage defense; total denial.

"Dunno, but it sure came in handy!" Danny exclaimed with a forced grin. Caleb just gave him a glare as he stood up, folding his arms over his chest. The halfa kept the grin in place, sweating it out under the suspicious gaze of the android.

"There are only three people who have the knowledge to install new programming in me," Caleb told him flatly, "and two of them are dead. I'm pretty sure I'd remember writing and installing a new spell into me that was strong enough to knock me out." The teens continued giving him a collective smile, nervousness radiating off of them by the brightness of those false grins. He narrowed his gaze a little further, then sighed after a minute, apparently giving up on trying to get any information out of them. "Never mind. Is everyone okay?"

"Yes. I think so. I mean, no one's been hurt too badly." Colette chose that time to speak, fluttering over with Jazz and Valerie walking beside her. The Red Huntress gave her look, one eyebrow raised, and the Chosen giggled behind her hand. "Well, at least you're still alive, so that's good, right?" she asked and the girl just threw up her hands in exasperation.

Caleb just sighed again, then looked down at Danny, blinking in surprise before narrowing his gaze at the metal in his hands. He reached out, hand open, and the halfa returned the ruined wing with a faint frown on his face.

"We found it near the edge where..." Danny trailed off and coughed lightly into one fist, "Yeah. So... can it be fixed?" He squirmed a little uncomfortably. "I mean, like, can it get... put back?" Caleb just studied the metal in his hand, a pensive expression on his face, before he shook himself off.

"I'll tell you after I've gotten my memento." he replied, accepting the satchel from Sam and shouldering it, "First, I want to get everyone healed. Where's the Wonder Fork?" He looked around, puzzled, then peered down beside the throne's base. "Ah. Got it." The android picked up the utensil and spun it at his side as he walked to the center of the island, glancing at each member of Team Phantom and Colette before pausing with a frown. He opened his mouth as if to say something, closed it, then shook his head again before lifting the fork to point at the group of teens. _"Root of all creation, grant us the breath of life! Revitalize!" _he exclaimed, casting the spell to heal all the injuries he could see immediately.

With that done, there was a bit of activity where several of the teens set about trying to set up a makeshift camp. There was nothing flammable around, so there was no campfire to be had. Caleb stood apart from them, his pack open on the ground as he pulled his tailcoat back on, gazing out the purple-black swirl of sky with that same considering expression on his face. Danny watched him from where he sat on the leveled ground in Indian fashion, looking a little worried. He couldn't get a read off of him, like that wall of perfect neutrality had come back up.

Danny didn't like the ominous feeling that gave him.

The android finished pulling his sleeves on, adjusting both metal pieces that kept them from sliding off his arms so that both were once again snugly fitted just below his shoulders, then paused and raised a hand to touch fingers to the oval green gem that rested below the hollow of his throat. He frowned thoughtfully, tapping a fingertip against the decoration before shaking himself off again and turning to rejoin the group, taking the satchel with him.

"Okay, so spill already!" Valerie exclaimed impatiently, "We've searched all over this place and we can't find anything that looks like it would be a memento!"

"And can you repair your wing to get your flight back?" Tucker put in concernedly, "Mostly because just seeing it still in your hand is starting to creep me out. That's like someone yanking your arm off and you're just holding it like it was nothing!" Caleb raised an eyebrow at him, then grinned and waved the thin lengths of metal in his direction, as though trying to poke him with the tips. Tucker blanched and held up his hands to ward it off. "Oh, that is **so **wrong!" he complained, "Not fair! Danny, tell him to knock it off; he listens to you!"

Danny didn't say anything, just watched the android out of the corner of his eyes with that same worried look. Something didn't feel right; Caleb didn't play like that, not usually. He'd be sarcastic and maybe crack some jokes that ended up going over their heads but this kind of interaction wasn't normal. Or maybe he was trying to read too much into it and Caleb was finally loosening up after facing his Trial and beating it.

"What did you expect me to do after hearing that?" the angel returned with a smirk before taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling, tapping the wing against his open palm. "All right. To answer your question, Tucker, no I can't. I don't have the equipment to repair my wing. That requires a full lab and staff since it has to be directly connected to my skeleton." He pointed at the crushed portion next. "On top of that, the Trial destroyed the feeding relays and folding mechanisms. This wing's useless now. I'll have to get a replacement wing and those are back at the Archive in New York." Caleb folded the outstretched wing, crushing the metal inward little by little until it was nothing but a small lump of silver-blue the size of a fat pencil. He tossed it into the air with a grin, snatched it back down and then stuffed it into his travel pack.

"So then what about your memento?" Jazz questioned, her hands on her hips as she watched him continue to dig around in his bag.

"That one's easy. Taking into consideration that my memories of Wren were used to form the plot of the Trial level, my fear of Yggdrasill created the Trial Monster and it was all an attempt to get me to not only reveal myself as Mithos but to repeat the path that created Yggdrasill..." Caleb remarked evenly and finally brought out his box, the small wooden chest that Sam had once searched through and found nothing but gems, ribbons and some odds and ends. He opened the box and smiled sadly at the bronze bell and green sash, curving a hand against it affectionately before bringing both hands down to the sides of the box, tapping against the wood rapidly in synch.

There was a click and the group leaned forward to watch in awe as a secret drawer slid forward from the bottom half of the wooden chest. "What the-? There's a false bottom to that thing?" Sam blurted out in shock, "But that box has been knocked about and I practically emptied it back in Welgaia! Why didn't the drawer open then?"

"You need a specific sequence of taps in the right places to reveal it." Caleb replied with a small smile, "I'm an android; the dimensions of this box are graphed in my head, so I can make the sequence complex and the key points highly accurate." The Goth rolled her eyes and gestured at him to get on with things. He looked back down at the drawer, a frown replacing the smile as he prepared to slide it open. "All right. Like I said, everything about this level came from me and my past with Wren. So it's almost a guarantee that the memento is also connected to him." he went on and grimaced slightly, "Before I show it to you, please keep in mind that I created this when I was at the lowest point of my life."

With that, Caleb slid open the drawer, revealing a bed of rich red velvet. The group gathered closer to take a look inside, blinking at the contents.

The first thing that came to mind was how similar it was to the Key Crest Danny had in his possession but much shinier. A little bird with outstretched wings, as though about to take flight, lay on the velvet bed. It was wrought in golden metal, shined and polished and sparkling so perhaps it really **was** gold. The details were beautiful and delicate, individual feathers were etched and its little eye gleamed merrily, feet curled and tucked up against its body, which had a round hole in the belly.

"Oh, that's lovely!" Jazz exclaimed brightly, hands clasping together, "It's a little wren! It looks like it could come to life at any moment!" Caleb's mouth just thinned as he gazed down at the bird.

"It's a Cruxis Crystal mount." he finally said tonelessly, "This one is made of activator metal, created by refining inhibitor ore in a method that reverses its properties." The teens looked up at him and Caleb seemed to shrink a little, shoulders raising defensively. "It was designed to create an angel host body, but I locked it into this compartment after I finished crafting it. Just looking at it makes me feel sick that I would sink so low as to make it."

They all just sat there, staring down at the mount in the drawer in silence. Eventually, Danny broke the silence. Strangely, it seemed kind of appropriate that it would be him that spoke first.

"Did you ever think of using this on me?" he asked and Caleb flinched, looking at him fearfully, but the only expression the halfa had on was curiosity. That seemed to soothe the redhead and he sighed guiltily.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't." Caleb admitted, "But I couldn't bring myself to think further. You're already so much like him and you have your own uniqueness as well; I couldn't be so selfish as to do an exchange like that, and my thoughts on that grew stronger when you offered to be my friend." He shook his head, gazing down at the mount. "No, I'd still lose a friend if I used this thing and it succeeded. I'd lose two if I failed. I wasn't going to do that to you; your life is precious to so many people and it's become precious to me." Sam gave him a suspicious look, glancing to catch Danny's eyes.

"But he doesn't match the Wonder Chef's mana. Why would you even think of using him as a vessel if they don't match?" she questioned. Caleb's expression went suddenly blank, eyes glowing vividly as Danny gave her an anxious look. Why'd she have to bring that up **now**?

"You're right. That's the strangest thing; my files say they don't match at all, so why do I have memories of this conflict over whether or not to use him as one?" Caleb finally muttered, the blank look replaced by an irritated expression, "Once again, I'm finding myself with evidence of someone tampering with my files and memories and the only people capable of doing that without my awareness are dead." He sighed harshly, shaking his head. "Either way, it doesn't matter. I made my decision about this." he declared and reached down to pick up the mount, "I'm sure that this thing is meant to be my memento."

As soon as his fingers closed around the little bird, the voice that had spoken of Caleb's Trial demands returned, just as cold and uncaring as before. _"Your punishment then remains true even now. That which you long for is forever out of your grasp."_ it began and Caleb stood abruptly, dropping both the mount and the box of his possessions to the ground, spilling their contents. His mouth was set in a thin line, as though just barely holding back his fury. _"Angel of Heroes, you paid for your treachery with your heart. This is the power of perfect neutrality."_

It faded, leaving the teens to watch the android warily. All of their memento speeches had been somewhat triumphant, cryptic but encouraging them of their true natures. This one was a let-down, not only for ignoring Caleb coming to terms with his soul but also slapping him in the face with the reminders of all he'd lost. No one said anything; what **could** they say? Even Colette winced at hearing those words, gazing up at him sorrowfully with her pink wings fluttering gently.

He clenched his hands into fists at his sides, standing rigid as he hung his head, the fringe of his hair hiding his face. After a few moment, the teens began to hear something from him; softly at first, then growing louder over time.

Laughter.

Colette paled, fluttering backwards and holding herself in a horrified defensive stance. "N-no, not again!" she breathed, "I... I remember that laughter!"

"Heh heh heh... _heheheheheheh_!" Caleb chuckled as his shoulders trembled. His head lifted and a smile stretched widely across his face, eyes closed as he kept laughing. The teens stepped back hurriedly, wariness and fright overtaking them in alternating strength. "Y-yeah, I kind of figured that'd be the case." Caleb finally remarked brightly, and Danny spotted the sheen of tears running down his face again, "Heh, ha ha ha ha! I always knew I'd fail at it; why the heck do I always keep falling for the same trick?" He sighed, lifting one hand to press over his face, leaving just one eye to open and gaze at the teens before him, his smile shrinking to something more gentle and less crazed. "Sorry if I scared you. I just found the irony really funny." he apologized.

"What'd I tell you about making everyone need therapy?" Jazz countered shakily, trying to put on a braver face than she felt, "And what irony?" Caleb didn't pull his hand down, just smiled a little more sadly.

"I said it already, didn't I?" he returned, "That I had made my decision about all this? I'm giving up on him." At the looks of confusion on the group's faces, he just chuckled again. "This whole level; if it can fool me with so many fakes and remind me of just how awful I can become if I so much as _think_ the True-Blood Wonder Chef is in trouble, then who am I kidding when I say I deserve him back?" The smile grew toothy, almost threatening the teens to argue with him. "So I'm giving up; I don't care anymore and I don't **want** to care. Let Martel and everyone keep Wren. I'm going to do as I want and as duty demands, and nothing else. I'll keep my promises, but I'm not holding out hope anymore. I'm **tired** of it."

Danny felt as if the entire world just zoomed in to focus on him, his shoulders drooping and jaw dropping open. _'No way! He can't possibly mean that! After everything... after all the fighting Wren's been doing for him, struggling to get back to him... he can't! He just __**can't**__!'_

"You can't!" Colette blurted out his thoughts heatedly, shaking her fists up and down as she hovered there. Her determined voice was at odds with her expression, a look of anguish that made Danny's heart want to break. "Caleb, you can't...!"

"That's enough, Colette!" Caleb snapped in a stern tone, finally pulling his hand down to rest on his hip, "I'm through with it. There's no point in him being here if he's just going to die and turn me into Yggdrasill's little puppet again, so I'm throwing him away. You guys win. Go back to Martel and dance your little happy dance of victory. I. **Don't.** _**Care**_**.**" She flinched back from him as if she'd been slapped and just hovered there, lower lip trembling. "Team Phantom, we have new problems. I'm going to need your help with them, so can I count on you?" he turned his attention to the other teens, found them still staring at him in disbelief and sighed in exasperation, pinching the bridge of his nose, "What **now**?"

"You're not seriously meaning that, are you?" Valerie demanded quietly, her eyes still wide with shock, "I mean, you're the most stubborn guy I've ever met, next to Danny Fenton, and so far everything I've seen about you has been to try and get Martel to give you back your friend and..."

"And I've been doing it for billions of years and the closest I got to seeing him has been a couple of fakes shoved in my face to make me dance for Nebilim's amusement." Caleb retorted bitingly, "I'm sick of it. No more. Do you want to hear about our current situation or not?"

"But Wren..." Danny began hesitantly and ducked behind Tucker when Caleb shot him a cool glare.

"The Wonder Chef is no longer an issue. He is dead, will remain dead and is never going to be affected by what happens here." the android told him in an icy tone, "My focus now is on the world he left in my care and dealing with this threat to that world. Are you going to help me or not?"

The halfa sighed, ready to just go along with this new craziness, if only to get Caleb to relax and get back to something close to normal. Colette leaned over and whispered in his ear, halting him in place.

"Put him to sleep. Martel wants to talk to you about that condition she mentioned and she's going to talk through me." the little angel murmured. He nodded and floated over to the android as Caleb gathered up the fallen gems and ribbons and bell, tucking them all carefully back into his box.

_'Sorry, Caleb, but this is for your own good. Wren wants to come back to you and you hurt him with thinking he was another fake. Maybe I can convince Martel to forgive you and finally put things right.'_ Danny set his expression with that thought, nodding to himself determinedly as Caleb scooped up the little wren-shaped mount. "Hey, Caleb." he called to get the android's attention.

"Yes?" the redhead returned, looking up at him from where he knelt with a quizzical expression. Danny bent to whisper into his ear.

"Dream some good dreams, Caleb." he murmured, floating back in surprise as the android immediately fell backwards, eyes closing and leaving him with a rather peaceful look, sleeping with the shiny little bird still in his grip. "I hope this is worth it, 'cause I did **not** feel good doing that to him at **all**." Danny grumbled, turning to face Colette.

The blonde had her eyes closed, floating down until her feet touched the floor and lifting her hand to close around a tall staff of burnished metal that flashed into existence, the head of it a winged sphere with a pair of rings clattering around it before coming to a rest at its base, a third hovering like a halo over the top. The teens watched her in awe as Danny blinked. That staff; he'd seen it before... oh yeah! The statues of Martel had them and he'd remembered seeing it in that woman's shadow back when Caleb first pulled them all into this crazy Book. So if Colette was now holding the staff, then...

She opened her eyes and the blue of her eyes had lightened to almost a blue-green color. Her stance was different; she held her body regally, as if she were so much taller than them all.

_"Hello, children. You must be Danny Phantom, The Raven who usurped The Wren."_ Martel murmured through Colette's mouth. Her voice was beautiful, with the same faint echoing effect Danny's voice had.

"That's what Caleb's sister sounds like?" Tucker asked suddenly, adjusting his glasses almost subconsciously, "She sounds more like an angel than all the angels we've run into so far!"

"I didn't do anything except promise to be Caleb's friend while he waited for Wren to come back." Danny shot back, feeling a spike of anger towards this woman/goddess/spirit person who was **supposed** to be a loving big sister. "You're the one who hurt him constantly by keeping Wren away. I guess you're going to gloat now, since Caleb thinks the real Wren's another fake and won't have anything to do with him anymore!"

_"Do not presume to know why I do anything, Danny Phantom."_ Martel replied loftily, _"I allowed Adam to come and aid you at great risk on the conditions I had set, including the one I am about to request of you now."_

"Funny, I thought Goddesses could demand anything." Sam retorted, folding her arms over her chest. She glared at the possessed Colette, daring her to rebuke her words. "What would one have to 'request' of us 'children'?"

Martel's gaze slid to her briefly before gazing towards the fallen redhead with a wistful expression. _"As much as you may not believe me right now, I do love my dear little brother and would like nothing more than to see him happy."_ she murmured and turned a fierce glare on Danny, _"But I cannot overlook the actions he took while here in the Book of the Underworld."_

"If you mean the Cruxis Crystal and the Key Crest, those were for Danny's protection after he found the Crystal." Jazz pointed out defensively. Martel shook her head.

_"I know my brother. He had taken out the activator mount before he decided to create the Key Crest instead and for that he had to be punished."_ she returned.

"That's not fair! You've taken away his last hope just because he was tempted!" Valerie cried angrily, "That's part of being alive! Being tempted to do something awful and selfish but choosing instead to be better than that; what more could you ask of him?" The blonde angel closed her eyes, raising her chin defiantly.

_"Nothing. There is nothing more I can take from him now. I have nullified every way Caleb can use to create a logical loophole in my first commandment."_ the Spirit of Mana declared, _"They cannot meet in death, they cannot meet while in different forms of existence, and now Caleb will never be the instrument of Adam's resurrection."_ She opened her eyes again and smiled, a small and mischievous one that she directed at Danny. _"But that doesn't mean someone **else** can't fulfill that task instead."_ she purred. The teens looked at one another warily before turning their collective gaze towards the half-ghost. Danny folded his arms over his chest, narrowing his gaze despite the tilt of his head that betrayed his interest.

"Okay, I'll play this game; what do want from me?" he asked suspiciously.

_"Not from you, not exactly."_ Martel corrected and lifted her free hand, waving it gracefully before herself. As she moved, a blossom of light erupted before her, fading to reveal the semi-transparent figure of the blonde Wonder Chef floating there, half-curled and asleep. Danny nearly stepped forward in shock; she'd brought him back! He was okay! When Wren threw him away from that _Death Eater_ and he heard that awful crack, he thought something had gone horribly wrong.

"Oh, he looks much younger now." Jazz commented in surprise, eyes wide and blinking rapidly. The phantom glanced at her, puzzled, then checked again. She was right; the chef was smaller, thinner, and had the same angelic and youthful face the fake had presented to trick Caleb. Confused by the change, Danny looked aside to the possessed angel.

_"Caleb was right that the two of you match very well. If he **had** attempted to use you as a vessel for Adam, the transfer would have been highly successful, just like when Yggdrasill transferred my consciousness to Colette's body."_ Martel told him, a serious expression on that just didn't seem to fit with Colette's face, _"However, doing so would corrupt Adam; his love for all living things would never allow him to just overlook the fact that Caleb would create a lifeless being, and he would grow to resent and hate Caleb. This would devastate my brother."_

Sam rubbed at her head, trying to make sense of the situation as she tapped her foot against the floor. "Okay, so the Wonder Chef can forgive him for obliterating an entire _town_, and for causing Pepper to sacrifice herself to save him, but he won't forgive him if he turned Danny into a host body?" she asked incredulously, "How does that even work?"

"Because death is death, and no matter how you get there, it brings peace and rest in the end." Danny answered in a flat tone, surprising his friends. Martel remained silent, just smiled encouragingly for him to go on. "Lloyd said there's no meaning in dying, and he's right. But when a person dies anyway, at least they're completely dead, able to be resurrected or reborn or go 'somewhere else', whatever. Wren can accept that because he knew it would happen to himself and the people he loves. But when you turn someone into a lifeless being, you make it so all of that doesn't matter. That person is the same as dead but still existing. There's no peace in it, there's nothing!" His eyes went from ghostly green to that vivid yellow in anger. "What's the point of a life that isn't really **alive**?" he demanded of no one.

"There's a song in there somewhere." Tucker suddenly remarked inanely, breaking the dramatic moment and flinching at the collective 'TUCKER!' sent his way, "What? I'm just saying I heard a song online that says something like that!"

_"He is correct."_ Martel remarked, and had the grace to look a little sheepish at the disbelieving looks sent her way, _"I meant Phantom is correct. I've not heard of a song concerning this. Apologies."_ She went back to her stern look. _"But yes, that's exactly why Adam would not be able to forgive him; you truly are much like him, to even be able to understand the thoughts Adam would have."_

"Still didn't tell me what you want." Danny grumbled with a frown twisting his mouth to one side.

_"As things are now, neither Caleb can resurrect the Wonder Chef, nor can I. If Caleb does so, Adam will be corrupted. If I did so, Caleb would take him for granted."_ Martel told him, _"So I am asking you to help me protect Adam until the conditions are right that **you** are able to revive him."_

There was dead silence after that, the Goddess faced with half a dozen pairs of eyes just staring at her before the group broke into laughter. Danny held his sides, laughing so hard he felt like crying. She was kidding, right? What could **he** do? He was just one little half-ghost and had his hands full enough dealing with Vlad and the other ghosts; he was barely coping as it was with this Nebilim jerk and magical ghosts, and now Martel here wants him to bring Caleb's number one best friend back to life somehow?

Somewhere along the way, the laughing turned into actual crying and he rubbed at his eyes, trying to make the tears go away. This was too much. What could he possibly do?

"Are you asking Danny to volunteer as a vessel and lift the blame from Caleb?" Jazz finally demanded.

_"Not so much. Be a vessel, yes, but be a living vessel."_ Martel returned briskly and stepped forward, leaning over to smile down at Danny, _"I would like to ask if you would accept housing Adam's soul within your body for a while. As you can see, he's in a deep sleep, recovering not only from the injuries he sustained helping you fight Caleb's Trial but also to prevent a collision of wills within your body. When a vessel is created, their native soul is suppressed and the outside soul is made 'active'. That's how the transfer works."_

"But you want to do a reverse of that." Tucker realized, looking over at the sleeping chef, "You're gonna make Adam be asleep and suppressed while Danny's soul stays dominant and active. And since they have similar mana, Caleb won't be able to tell the difference even with his scans!" He brightened, "You're gonna turn Danny into a Trojan horse!"

_"In a sense, yes, but I plan on rousing Adam, just a bit, while he's within you."_ Martel told Danny, _"This way, he'll learn about the world through you. All your adventures, all your interactions with Caleb, the state of the world; Adam will take in that information and learn how to fit in with the modern world. When the world is at its darkest moment and all the conditions are right, only then will you be able to bring Adam back to life."_

"But Caleb said that it doesn't matter now; if Wren comes back, he'll only die again eventually, and just seeing that will be all it takes to turn him into a copy of Yggdrasill." Danny pointed out dubiously.

_"You leave that part to me, when the time comes. Will you accept this proposal, Danny Phantom?"_ Martel asked him seriously.

"If I take Adam in, will I be able to tell Caleb that I've got him safe?" Danny returned. The possessed angel shook her head. "More testing for him, then, huh?" he grumbled.

_"There are things that Caleb must learn to grow and evolve past this point, where he sees himself as a superior android, using perfect neutrality as an excuse to distance himself from everyone who could love and care about him."_ Martel explained, her expression saddened, _"Reaching out to you, The Raven, was a step in the right direction, but this rejection of The Wren out of pain and anger and sorrow is, as you might say, 'two steps back'. Keep leading him forward, Danny Phantom, however you can, so that one day these two friends can finally be reunited."_

Danny sighed, rubbing his head and ruffling his own hair in the process. Overall, it seemed like the best idea. If Martel didn't have Wren anymore, then maybe the other Heroes would back off on trying to keep them apart. And if he had the chef close by, then maybe he'd have a better idea of how to deal with Caleb when he got all emo and mopey. _'I'll have to figure out how to wake him up a little more then, just enough to talk maybe.'_ He wouldn't have to worry about getting taken over by the chef either. Wren wouldn't want to make anyone his vessel, so he'd stay right where he was to protect him.

Looked pretty win-win so far.

"All right. I'll take him. Just promise me something." Danny finally said and Martel smiled tightly at him.

_"How cute. You're demanding something again. What is it?"_ she asked.

"You tell the Heroes of Union that all of this, everything Caleb said just now," Danny growled, pointing at her accusingly, "it's all **their** fault. Lloyd caught on so he's okay in my book, but all the rest kept their backs turned on him. Everyone deserves a second chance, and they were too afraid of Yggdrasill to give Mithos that chance, and now Caleb is paying for it." He paused, then glared even more fiercely at her. "And while you're at it, remember it's **your** fault too. For being just as much a chicken and a sell-out as they were!" His gaze remained unwavering even as the Goddess glared back at him, eyes sparking and glowing with power and making Colette's body look unnaturally scary.

Eventually the sparks faded and her face smoothed, her gaze neutral and so much like Caleb's mask of uncaring expression that Danny could really believe the two were related. _"Interesting. I can't deny what you've said. So, yes, I'll tell them, and I will remember."_ Martel murmured and swept her arm before herself sharply, _"Danny Phantom, you will now be the Living Vessel of the Wonder Chef. Guard him well and one day, all the mistakes we've made will be mended and Caleb's heart will be freed!"_

The blonde chef was swallowed up by light, shrunk down into a small glowing ball that floated and bobbed in place. Danny reached out to it, determined to make this work. The sphere seemed to hesitate for just a moment, then zipped forward and plunged right into his chest. For a split second, he was reminded of his own Trial, of the The Corrupted zipping into him to screw with his head, and then a stab of pain shot through him, forcing him to cry out in alarm as he hugged himself tightly.

Burning hot and freezing cold warred within him as the intruding soul tried to find a place to settle within him that wouldn't rip into his own soul. Why did it hurt? Why? He collapsed as his friends gathered around him in shock, supporting him and holding on as he writhed in agony. Colette staggered in place, the staff vanishing along with Martel's presence.

_'Why? What's going on?'_ Danny tried to bite back a scream, failed, and clawed desperately at the emblem on his shirt in a futile attempt to dig out the cause of his pain.

"What's happening? The books didn't say that a vessel taking a soul was gonna be like this!" Jazz exclaimed, struggling to hold her brother's hands away from himself.

"Argh! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Think, you guys!" Sam growled as she dodged a kick from the flailing phantom, "Adam uses Fire and Light magic; those are his personal Elements. Danny's cryokinesis means he's naturally Ice Element. Fire and Ice; they're opposing Elements!"

The fire spread from his head to his toes and Danny tried to curl up, gasping and whimpering and wishing he could black out on demand so he wouldn't have to be awake for this. He screamed again and the huddle of his friends broke apart, startling him, even more when Caleb's worried expression loomed over him, the android using his greater strength to very carefully keep him pinned down.

One hand pressed over his emblem and Danny felt all the air rush out of him as the heat suddenly retreated, becoming a curl of warmth, soothing and pain-free, that rested under his heart. He coughed, clapping a hand over that spot protectively. There; the Wonder Chef's soul found a place to hide and radiated a soothing wave of warmth, almost like an apology for the blaze that had brought him down. Danny managed a breathless laugh, relaxing at last.

"What just happened?" Caleb demanded of the teens around him, "I'm suddenly put into Sleep Mode and the thing that snaps me out of it is hearing Raven screaming in pain? **What** is going **on**?"

"My bad." Danny gasped out, "I chewed out the Goddess of Mana and she didn't like it."

"Oh, for crying out loud..." Caleb sighed, pulling him up to a seated position, "Don't go asking for more trouble on my behalf. I'm fine with letting her keep Wren; it's better for everyone in the end." The teens looked at each other uncomfortably but Danny only chuckled, rubbing his head even as he kept his hand over that new sensation under his heart.

"Sorry, but I'm never gonna believe that." he replied and cast about for a change of subject, "So, uh, you said we had a problem?" The android nodded and helped him to his feet before gesturing to the rest of the group.

"Once everyone's settled down to rest, I'll explain." he told them grimly, "I'm not going to like it, but it's got to be done."


	47. Chapter 47

47

They sat in a circle around Caleb's self-cooking pot, waiting for the stew to finish cooking. Colette stayed with them, apologizing profusely to Danny for anything Martel did until Caleb started growing suspicious again and the halfa begged her to stop and she apologized for apologizing so much. For the most part, Danny couldn't stop lifting his hand to rub his chest, just under his heart. It was still a bizarre feeling, knowing that resting there, sleeping soundly, was the Wonder Chef's soul. It was even weirder that he could sit right next to Caleb, knowing that bit of information, and understand that the android would never -**could** never- know that same thing.

"So, what seems to be the problem?" Valerie asked in confusion, breaking the silence and bringing Danny back to the here and now. Yeah, that's right; Caleb had said there was one now that he needed help with. He glanced at the bands of metal covering his wrists, the sockets completely empty save for one piece of White Quartz on his left arm. Would the problem have anything to do with the shortage?

It seemed like it, since Caleb dug into his pack and brought out the other three pieces that were left to set them down before himself. The teens looked down at them, then up at him. He just continued staring grimly down at the three stones for a long moment. After a bit, he sighed and looked up and around at each of them.

"If I use the Rune Bottles you guys picked up while I was captured back in Tucker's level, I can get our White Quartz supply to six." he began quietly, "By now, both Jazz and Valerie will need new Quartz. That will bring us back down to four. Raven only needs one to protect himself, but he'll need more to be able to fight with any amount of effectiveness." He reached down and picked up a stone, stretching to set it down in front of Jazz, then repeated the motion for Valerie. The two girls picked up the replacements, looking at one another in concern before gazing back at him. Caleb brought out three pieces of Black Quartz and set them down before dousing each one with the contents of three little vials. Danny recognized them; they'd been among some of the items in the basket of stuff he'd collected in Tucker's level, back when he and Valerie did patrols while waiting for signs of Caleb that had never come. They just handed them off to Caleb when he returned and thought nothing else of them.

The pale pinkish-purple liquid splashed over the black stones and each one's color shifted to become white. Four white stones gleamed in the light of the purple-black swirling sky, but Caleb didn't look any happier.

"Can we beat Nebilim with this much White Quartz?" Sam asked, brow furrowing doubtfully as she tilted her head. She didn't look any more relieved to see the number of stones increase than the android.

"No. We can't." Caleb sighed harshly, "Raven burns through them far too quickly with his more powerful attacks, and unfortunately we're going to need the strongest attacks and skills we can use against Nebilim. Jazz and Valerie, you two will need more Quartz to make sure your weapons can continue damaging him, but we need just as much to ensure Raven's protection and ability to fight as well." He buried his hands in his hair, resting his elbows on his knees as he fell into silence, letting his words sink in.

"If Sheena were here, she could use her skills to apply Light Element effects to everyone." Colette murmured, hands lifting to press together as she spoke. Danny noted that she did that often when she talked, like Genis did his little hand-lift and head-shake. Were these people even aware that they did those things whenever they talked? It was just _weird_. "But... they don't last very long, and we can't interfere with a battle like this, even if we want to help, and we **do**. We just **can't**. This isn't our place." she went on sadly, "You're the Heroes of this land, so it's your battle. I'm sorry."

"That's fine, Colette." Jazz told her in a chipper voice, trying to lighten the mood, "We'll just figure something out, you don't have to apologize for anything. I'd like to go more in depth to find the root of your insecurities that causes this behavior but..."

"Oh, I'm sorry." the blonde angel apologized again, "Yeah, now's not a good time. I'm sorry."

"So, then what do we do? We don't have enough White Quartz to just berserk on Nebilim." Valerie demanded, folding her arms over her chest defensively, trying to hide her nervousness over the low number. "Should we come up with a plan? Some kind of tactics?"

"I've already done that." Caleb muttered, pulling his hands free with a tired sigh, "Ever since Raven's level, when our count was down to four Quartz, with the fifth in his armlet, I've run simulated battle scenarios using a number of Quartz combinations, trying to work out a strategy that we can use with this much White Quartz." He stopped abruptly, an expression on his face that made him look as if he just saw someone spit in the pot of stew and remark that it added flavor. The teens leaned forward expectantly.

"And?" Tucker encouraged.

"And I think it would be best if I sent you all out of here and finished this alone." Caleb finished, that same sour expression on his face as the teens immediately began protesting that idea, "See, this is why I said I wasn't going to like explaining this!"

"Because it's gonna go down in history as the stupidest thing to have ever come out of your mouth?" Danny griped at him. Caleb scowled at him and the boy just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, no, that's not gonna happen. If you send us out, what's gonna happen to the Soulfire?" he pointed out, "You need us all to make sure it's enough to burn this thing." He paused, thinking it over. "We **do** have enough, right?" he questioned uncertainly. The android nodded and Danny threw a hand out towards him. "Well, there you go then! Why risk losing it all by kicking us out?" Caleb blinked, then managed a small, hesitant smile.

"I had hoped to at least protect you all just a little longer." he admitted and looked around at the others to be sure they all paid attention, "I ran all those simulations and they all had the same result. Each of you would die and Raven would be taken over by Nebilim. I didn't want that to happen... I still don't want that to happen."

Danny wilted a little, listening to his friends murmur to one another in hushed, worried voices. "What happens to you in those simulations?" Tucker asked suddenly. Caleb shrugged.

"Sometimes, I'm crushed under his foot while trying to resurrect one of you. Others, he keeps me alive only until Raven's the last one standing, then uses him to force me into making myself vulnerable to attack... and then cleaves me in half with his sword." he remarked offhandedly, oblivious to the grimaces on each of the teens' faces, with Colette wincing just as much. He rubbed at one arm, avoiding looking at Danny as he finished, "More often than I care to recall, he takes over Raven's body first, and then rips the Tri-Crystal System out of my body while laughing."

"So... that's it? We just give up now?" Sam demanded of him, "Is that what you want us to do? Just because we don't have the Quartz to last us through the fight?"

"I don't like it either, but I've calculated all the variables I could think of, Sam!" Caleb shot back in frustration, "I even ran a few where Jazz and Valerie had all the Quartz!"

"And?"

"And Raven is immediately taken over and kills us all with Ghostly Wail." Caleb griped, folding his arms over his chest, "Well, technically he spears the Wonder Fork through me first so I can't put up a magical barrier, _then_ he uses Ghostly Wail on the rest of you."

"Yeah, like that makes it sound so much better than the first way of saying 'Here's how Danny Phantom screws over the world'." said phantom grumbled in an unimpressed tone.

"Um, Caleb?" Colette finally chipped in, eyes wide and blinking innocently, "Didn't Genis say that you still have Mithos' Rings of Pact?" The android glanced at her, still looking a little sour.

"I've got the gems, yes. The rings themselves are gone; I don't know what Lloyd did with them after he pulled them apart to set into Pepper's bell." he replied and gave her an uncertain look, "Why?" The blonde glanced aside, as though listening to something no one else could hear, then looked back at him with a newly determined expression.

"Sheena says to use the Topaz." she told him and Caleb scowled.

"The Summon Spirit Gems don't **have** any fire. When Yggdrasill broke the pacts with them, they all lost their blessings." he countered, "They were reignited for Pepper by immersing them in the bloodlines of the different mana beast clans; they're all extinct again so the fire went out, too. I'm not a summoner; I can't make pacts and even if I could, it's too late to do it anyway. Nebilim is just a teleporter pad away."

"What's a gem gonna do?" Danny asked of Sam, one eyebrow raised quizzically.

"It was in the textbook. Each Summon Spirit has their own unique gem that they give to their summoner as proof of the pact they've made. A pact is a promise to the Spirit that states what they plan to do with the Spirit's power." the Goth explained with a grin, "If the Summon Spirit agrees to the pact, they give the summoner a ring with their gem and then they can be summoned to help. Wearing the ring also bestows them with the Element of the corresponding Spirit."

"How long does that last?" Jazz asked, taking interest in the conversation while Colette went into a trance, possibly to continue talking with Sheena.

"You guys need to read your own books." Sam complained with a flat expression, "The effect is pretty much infinite. As long as you wear the gem and uphold the pact, you can have an Element applied to you without needing anything else."

"That's perfect, then!" Valerie exclaimed with a smile, "All we have to do is get the Summon Spirit of Light's gem working again, slap it on the Spook, and then the rest of us can use the White Quartz ourselves!"

"I told you I'm **not** a summoner!" Caleb barked at them, breaking the huddle apart with surprise, "Mithos was, but his abilities don't carry over to me. I just kept the gems for sentimental value; they're useless as anything but decorative jewelry now." He reached out and lifted the lid of the cooking pot, peering in at the stew. "Should be ready. It needs to cool a little before you can eat." he murmured and switched the device off.

"You still have one of Sheena's spell-cards, don't you?" Colette suddenly asked, "I saw it fall out of your treasure box with everything else."

Caleb's expression went blank, then shifted to a faintly guilty and evasive one, fingertips tapping together nervously. "Um... well, I _might_ have saved my last one for the sake of sentimentality too." he stammered, "It's a Mizuho original; she'd understand why I wanted to keep it preserved." Colette frowned lightly, just a tiny downward twitch of her lips. She nodded and closed her eyes, a wave of magic swallowing her up in a whirlwind. When it faded, another figure was left in her place.

Dark hair tied up in a spiky style, dressed in purple and black clothing that hugged a generously endowed figure and was cinched with a giant pink bow and ribbons, a young woman knelt in the circle of teens and android. She opened her own eyes, a sparkling black full of indignant fire as she frowned at Caleb. Sam made sure to elbow both Tucker and Danny fairly hard; she knew exactly where the boys were staring the moment Sheena Fujibayashi arrived.

"That's not fair, Caleb! I gave you that stack of spell-cards to help you when you needed extra power without having to use the Pin!" the ninja yelled furiously, getting to her feet and throwing her arms out and back emphatically.

"They all keep doing that." Danny muttered even though no one else would get what he was talking about, "It's like they can't even help it."

"It's my last one, Sheena." Caleb sighed, "I really wanted to keep it because it was one of the last things you gave me before everything went so wrong for us all." He gave her a tiny hopeful smile. "I was really happy to get those cards for my birthday. One of my favorite presents, too."

"Geh! Don't use Zelos's smile like that!" Sheena stammered back, her hands lifting to her face in a lame attempt to hide her blush, "The spell-cards were **meant** to be used to help you; if you refuse to do that, then it's like dishonoring them and the one who gave the gift." She straightened her stance, gesturing absently with one hand as she went on. "You silly doll; that gift was precious to you because there was a limited number of cards. Each one used was done with great deliberation and careful thought, and always for the very best of reasons." the ninja told him gently but firmly, "And every time you did so, you brought honor to my gift and made me proud. This last card, it should have the greatest honor, shouldn't it? The honor of protecting a beloved friend, of being instrumental in defeating a great evil and saving this world, this precious world Adam loved so much; isn't **that** worth using the spell-card you've cared for all these billions and billions of years?"

Caleb blinked, then reached for his box again, opening it to take out the Japanese card that Sam had examined in Welgaia. It was a thin paper, covered in ornate but neatly written characters. The Goth had tried translating it -she knew many foreign languages to talk to the plants in her greenhouse- but some of the characters were too difficult and didn't mesh with the alphabet she used for reference. Now she wondered if it was because Mizuho language had been used as the basis for Japanese and other Eastern languages. The teens took to looking at the spell-card in interest; it was new to them but Sam was more interested in the knowledge that Sheena herself had written those characters, enchanted that slip of paper.

It was an original, not a replica like she had thought. No wonder Caleb seemed so reluctant to use it up. Supposedly, using an _ofuda_ would result in it being burned or destroyed in some manner. For an archivist, destruction of ancient materials was sacrilege.

"My last card." Caleb mumbled sadly, "The last of my birthday present from you. I was three years old when you gave this to me with the other eleven cards." Sheena nodded.

"I remember. You spent the entire day going crazy that you'd accidentally use them without thinking, and then Zelos kicked you into the river to shut you up." she agreed and laughed, "Come on, Caleb, Mizuho spell-cards weren't meant to last forever! It was a miracle this one stayed in one piece this long! Doesn't that tell you that it was fated to be used for this moment, to rekindle the Topaz and protect your friends?"

The android made a small sound, like a strangled whimper; Danny perked up at it, somehow knowing that it meant he agreed, didn't like it, but agreed. Sheena must have known as well -and Danny figured she would since she knew the guy longer- because she gave a short nod in silence and stepped back, her body already beginning to fade away.

"For what it's worth, I don't ever regret giving you those cards. Every time I started to doubt your heart, you proved me wrong on who you were by using one to help others." the ninja told him, shifting her weight to one leg and folding her arms under her bust, a broad smile on her face, "You guys following him around? You seem like a good bunch. Keep this _baka andoroido_ in one piece. He deserves friends that won't be easily hung up on the past."

With that she was gone and Team Phantom turned their attentions back to the redhead still clutching the slip of paper in his fingers. He still looked saddened, gazing at it as though committing it to memory. Then he sighed and reached into the box to pick out a dark yellow gem before getting to his feet. "All right, let's get this over with." Caleb mumbled, "Before I get the chance to panic and back out of the whole deal." The teens scrambled to get up as well, Tucker digging out a digital camera and checking it for a charge and storage space.

"This is getting recorded for coolness factor!" he declared with a grin, lifting it to get a good angle on the action.

"An actual summoning... I'm going to see a Summon Spirit for real." Sam breathed in awe, eyes sparkling with eagerness. Caleb stood before an empty stretch of the island, the card in one hand and the gem in the other. He tilted his head thoughtfully, then turned to look towards the halfa.

"Raven, could you come here for a second? I'm going to need both my hands for this, so hold on to the gem for me." he remarked. Danny nodded and floated over, cupping his hands to catch the heavy jewel that was tossed his way. Tucker gave them a thumb's-up, the camera's recording light blinking rhythmically. "Okay, here goes." Caleb muttered and took a deep breath, lifting his arm and gripping the paper tightly. An expression of concentration came over his face and after a moment he lashed his arm forward, throwing the spell-card before himself.

To Danny's shock, it actually halted in mid-air, flattened like it had stuck to an invisible wall before it began spinning, twirling so fast the characters on both sides of the paper blurred and blended, revealing a secret set of characters that made Sam cry out. Caleb thrust both hands forward, palms facing the spell-card while a circle of runes traced themselves out at his feet, carved with brilliant white light.

_"I call upon the light of the heavens! In Sheena's name I summon thee, come, Luna!"_ the android declared. The card burst into flames as a flash of light appeared before the group, revealing an exotically-dressed woman sitting on a golden crescent moon, a staff held lazily in one hand. She gazed at Caleb with a puzzled expression before giving him a beatific smile.

_"Ah, Caleb. It has been a long time since last we saw one another. Only you would call me by that incantation; all others continue to refer to me as the Moon Spirit."_ she remarked and floated closer, leaning over to catch Caleb's chin in her grip and shaking his head in the manner of a grandmother greeting a favorite grandchild. _"I miss your visits! You never come to chat anymore; drop by more often!"_

Danny snorted and tried to hold back his snickers, hand clapping over his mouth as Caleb shot him a warning glare. This was just too funny for words! It would just be icing on the cake if the Summon Spirit would say...

_"Have you met anyone special yet? You're a living being, remember? Living beings can find love and you're no exception!"_ the woman declared, ruffling the redhead's hair affectionately, _"Look at you, surrounded by children; don't tell me you adopted them all!"_

"Luna, not now! And no, they're not mine! They're Heroes, friends of mine!" the android complained as Danny burst into laughter, his friends just as caught up in the moment as he was, "I used up my last spell-card to call you; please listen to me!" The Spirit puckered her mouth into a little 'o' of surprise before nodding and sitting back on her crescent moon, dress flowing freely around her legs and bare feet.

_"Ah, yes. Those cards were very precious indeed. Speak then. Tell me what you wish and I shall aid however I can."_ she murmured. Caleb held out his hand to the halfa beside him and Danny dropped the gemstone back into his possession, watching him hold the jewel out to the Summon Spirit.

"I need you to restore the fire to the Topaz." Caleb explained, "We don't have enough White Quartz to fight Nebilim, and one of my friends requires a constant supply of Light Element to ward off his possession attempts and combat him." Luna pursed her mouth, shouldering her staff as she turned her gaze on Danny. The halfa immediately shut up, stiffening under her scrutiny.

_"It's this one, isn't it? The one in danger of being overtaken without the protection of Light?"_ she mused aloud and nodded, _"Very well. I will restore the fire to the Topaz that once belonged to Mithos Yggdrasill. Make your vow."_ Caleb's expression blanked, and Danny was beginning to learn that this meant he'd been caught off guard and had no clue what the hell was going on.

"I'm not a summoner." he protested lamely and Luna just gave him that blissful smile again.

_"Caleb, dear, I cannot restore fire to a Gem of Pact without a pact. That's why it's called a Gem of Pact."_ she remarked in a cheerful tone but Danny could hear that edge of steel just under the words. _"I need a vow to base my power on or there is nothing to support it. You won't be summoning me so you don't need to go through the whole ritual, but you still need a pact to create the protection."_ She closed her eyes, still smiling, waiting as Caleb just stared at her.

For a few minutes no one said anything, just stared at the redhead looking at the Summon Spirit with a dumbfounded expression. After a while, Danny swore he saw a vein start to pulse in the Spirit's forehead.

_"Caleb~."_ Luna drew out his name in a faintly sing-song tone, eyes cracking open and glowing white through the lashes, her smile turning brittle and strained, _"Make your vow~."_

"Oh, for the love of _God_!" Sam yelled out, "Danny, **you** do it! You're gonna be the one using it anyway!" The halfa flailed in surprise and turned on the others.

"Wh-what? No way! I don't know anything about making a pact or whatever!" he yelled back.

_"**Somebody** make a vow."_ Luna growled, her voice now harsh and guttural as she clapped her staff against her open hand in slow beats, _"**Now."**_ Danny stiffened and turned back to face her, gulping hard. Okay, Summon Spirits equals scary nightmare times. He learned something new today.

"Um, uh..." he stammered, trying to think of a suitable promise, casting about in his teenage brain for something good, "I, Danny, vow to... um..." His hand went back to resting just under his heart, pressing there as though trying to feel where the little sleeping soul was curled up. That gave him an idea. _'Yeah, that sounds good.'_ He nodded to himself and looked up at the Summon Spirit confidently. "Right now, I have a friend who has been locked away in darkness." Danny told the Summon Spirit that listened to him carefully, "I vow to use your Light to lead him out and back to the people who care about him."

Caleb shot him another suspicious look, brows furrowing lightly as he tried to figure out the meaning of his words. Luna just smiled cheerfully again, all tension gone away like it had never been. _"That is a very good vow. I accept this pact and will grant you my power to fulfill it."_ she told the boy, _"Now remember, you are not a summoner either, so you cannot call upon me. But you will have a direct link to my Light and may now use it at any time."_ The Summon Spirit glowed a soft white, her aura pulling away and spiraling down into the Topaz that Caleb held in his outstretched hand. The gem began glowing as well, gaining strength as more of the Spirit's mana surged into it. After a few seconds, Luna just winked out of sight, but the remaining cloud of magic left behind continued swirling into the jewel until it had all vanished and the Topaz shone as brightly as a tiny star.

Tucker turned off the recording and lowered the camera, whistling in awe. "Now, **that** was worth a bajillion-year-old piece of paper." he remarked as Valerie smacked his arm in irritation, snapping 'That's not even a real word!' at him.

* * *

As the teens sat around the cooking pot, partaking of the vegetable stew -Danny was stuck with making sandwiches for Tucker's meat demands-, Caleb hummed to himself while crafting a setting for the shining gem that now rested in the wooden box with the other dull gems. Restoring the Topaz had made it swell in size, and creating a ring for it was no longer feasible. Sam had laughed at the idea of the phantom wearing something as gaudy as a giant ring and Danny didn't seem keen on the idea either. So the android pulled out the fat stick of metal that had once been his wing and used his innate strength to press and fold it into a rough shape before carving and smoothing it out.

The teens chatted idly, sometimes trying to come up with a plan of attack for Nebilim, other times watching the video of Luna's summoning, snickering over her treatment of the angel. They searched through the _Symphonian Cultures_ textbooks, looking for any clues to help them beat the Underworld King, learning that he had taken the form of a giant suit of heavy armor when Lloyd and his friends fought against him. This led to wondering if they could strike at the unprotected gaps in the armor for more damage, letting Danny aim for the head once he was equipped with the Topaz.

Danny tended to turn his focus inward, still in a bit of disbelief over what he did with that agreement with Martel. If he concentrated on that spot under his heart, he could feel the other soul still radiating a comforting warmth. For a minute, he worried that it would mess with his 'cold center' for his ice attacks, so he tested out an Ice Beam. Caleb jerked his head up, blinking in surprise and confusion when Danny fired a blast of Ice-infused ectoplasm at the floor a short distance away. Satisfied with the sheen of ice covering the target area, Danny restored the power of the White Quartz to keep his defenses up. Just because Wren was mainly Fire it didn't mean that Danny would lose his Ice.

He wondered if it meant, instead, that he'd one day be able to borrow some of the Fire for himself.

The pot soon ran empty, and the teens began unrolling sleeping bags and pillows, hoping for a good night's rest before facing the final challenge. Danny looked around the area, frowning at the lack of a teleporter. Every time a memento was picked up, the teleporter to the next level would appear; why didn't it show up when Caleb got his?

"It probably wants us to show all the mementos before it will be revealed." Caleb suddenly remarked, accurately guessing the halfa's thoughts. Danny looked towards him in surprise, watching the android get up and walk to him. "I assume you're looking for the teleporter. Notice how the throne is the only thing undamaged here, even though I've pretty much destroyed everything else with _Incineration Flambé_?" he pointed out, "That's the teleporter." The two of them looked in the throne's direction in silence for a moment, letting that thought sink in before Caleb turned back to the boy and held out the end results of his crafting. "Here. This is for you." he murmured.

It looked like the android had molded the silver-blue metal to fit the Topaz snugly, tiny engraved charms lined the rim around the gem. Danny carefully picked it up, running his thumb over the jewel before turning it over to examine the clasp on the back. It reminded him of a heavy brooch, something rich old ladies would wear on their blouses, all dull gold and crusted with tiny jewels. This had heft, but it was shining, bright, and had an air of power around it that reminded him more of Caleb's Eternal Sword Pin.

"I enchanted it with the Pin so that only you can take it off." Caleb explained softly and shrugged, "And me as well, since I'm the one who crafted and enchanted it, so that's a given. This is the Topaz Crest. It works the same as the White Armlets; just attach it to your clothes in ghost form, and it'll meld with them, vanishing with your suit when you change to human." Danny looked over himself helplessly, unsure of where to put it that would keep it out of his way. The android grinned and picked the crest back out of his fingers. "Here, I'll pin it for you." he offered and attached the clasp in the space between the hollow of his neck and the top of his insignia so the boundary of white and black ran through underneath the crest.

Danny ran his fingers over it once the redhead pulled away. The engravings were glowing faintly and the weight seemed to fade away. Even the fabric of his jumpsuit didn't seem to be affected by the accessory, no strange pulls or wrinkles. He pinched at it, feeling behind it for the clasp and finding the edge of the closed eye that captured the point of the pin so it wouldn't poke him. He nodded appreciatively and looked up in time to see Caleb rub at one eye.

"Are you okay?" he asked before he could think of what he was saying. The android chuckled.

"Yeah, just... please take care of that gem. It... it's still one of my mementos of Pepper." Caleb murmured with a shaky smile, rubbing the tears from face a little more roughly than he probably intended, "Although, knowing her, she'd just roll her eyes at me and say something like 'At least it's doing its job for once, Rust Bucket' or some other wisecrack." Danny laughed with him.

"She called you a rust bucket? Seriously?" the halfa asked playfully, "Do you **even** rust?" Caleb just snorted indignantly, shaking his head before pausing in consideration.

"Maybe once, when I was still a few months old. But that wasn't real rust, I just got sand in my joints by mistake and Altessa had to drag me back home with an Elemental Carriage." he pointed out firmly, "Not rust! Martel told that story to Pepper and she took to calling me that whenever she was feeling especially bratty!" He waved his hand rapidly to dismiss it. "Doesn't matter, doesn't matter. The Topaz Crest can be activated either by touch or by voice, whichever you prefer." Caleb informed the phantom, "In both cases either think or say 'Topaz Mode' to activate the Light Element, and 'Topaz Off' to deactivate it. Very simple but that's so you can switch Elements quickly in battle."

"Easy enough to get. I'd have to be an epic failure to mess that up." Danny agreed thoughtfully, turning intangible to see how the crest would react to that. Surprisingly, it went intangible as well. He tried it with invisibility, and the crest went with him. "I thought it was all magic; ghost powers shouldn't work on it!" he remarked.

"I told you I enchanted it, didn't I? While the Topaz Crest isn't active, it'll submit to your ghost powers." Caleb pointed out dryly, "Activate it and it'll pump more mana into your ectomana mix, canceling a lot of your ghost powers. You won't be able to turn intangible or invisible and have it do the same, so be careful about trying to be stealthy while using the Light Element." He tilted his head, watching Danny play with the crest, turning it invisible and not with just a touch of his fingertip. "Also, I'm going to need to borrow the Key Crest and Cruxis Crystal." Caleb blurted out.

The halfa snapped his head up so fast, it should have hurt, eyes wide and full of confusion. "What? Why? You said you didn't want to be anywhere near them!" Danny exclaimed.

"That was before you helped me get over my fear of being Mithos, or rather, his reincarnation." Caleb pointed out, "And didn't we agree that it might come in useful eventually? I've been running some new simulations now that you have the Topaz Crest, and there's an idea I'm working on, but I need to borrow the Cruxis Crystal and Key Crest." Danny narrowed his eyes, lifting up from the floor to be equal height to the android so he could lean forward and _stare_. Caleb just gave him a wide-eyed innocent look.

He didn't trust it, not really. The same ominous feeling as before came back as Danny realized he still couldn't read Caleb properly. Why? Why had the wall of perfect neutrality come back when they were both friends now? Those masks should have disappeared for him!

Slowly, cautiously, Danny reached into his pocket and pulled out the ghost-themed crest, its little mouth still stuffed with the red Cruxis Crystal he had found in Welgaia. Caleb held out his hand, smiling encouragingly at him. 'Just trust me', his face seemed to say. Part of Danny's brain was yelling how bad of an idea this was gonna be, the rest was telling that part to shut up 'cause didn't they go through a hell of a time proving to themselves and everyone else that Caleb **could** be trusted?

"Caleb... can I trust you?" Danny asked him before carefully placing the Crest and Crystal into his open hand. There! Just for an instant, almost too fast to catch if he hadn't been paying attention, Caleb's expression twitched enough to let him read the guy -_'guilt'_-, and then it was gone and the android was beaming at him.

"Of course you can trust me! Just place your faith in me!" Caleb replied cheerfully and walked off, humming to himself as he collected his travel pack, leaving out the bedding for him and Valerie to use. Danny just watched him go, gaze lidded as he rested a hand below his heart.

"Faith, huh? I really hope so." he murmured.

.

During the night, while Team Phantom slept, wrapped in sleeping bags and blankets and content with the current level of safety, Caleb stood watch over them all, gazing sadly at the teens as he held the Key Crest in one hand.

"I'm sorry, everyone. After everything I've learned from our travels through here, all the clues, all the variables, all my deductions and calculations," he whispered, "I've realized there's just no way we can defeat Nebilim together like this." He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. A resolute expression passed over his face as he opened his eyes, the green glowing brilliantly. One hand came up to the Eternal Sword Pin on his lapel.

"Even if you never forgive me for this, please understand, Raven," Caleb whispered, "I did this for you, for your friends and family, and for this precious world."

_"Eternal Sword Pin, grant me this wish..."_


	48. Chapter 48

48

Danny jolted awake, sitting up abruptly as he clutched the blankets to himself. He checked a hand -human again, so he transformed on the spot- and then looked around in a panic. For some reason, he had felt a sudden sense of dread come over him in his sleep, like something was incredibly wrong. And so he snapped awake and began taking stock of his surroundings.

His friends were also beginning to wake up, shifting around under their blankets as they moved to get out of them. The purple-black swirl of sky had gone away, replaced by the cloudy red that was normal for some levels of the Book of the Underworld; the ruined island battlefield had transformed into the familiar iridescent glass platform, but Yggdrasill's throne remained in place.

Not far from them, Caleb was bent over his travel pack, his back turned to them as he dug around within the battered bag. Danny breathed a sigh of relief, mentally berating himself for thinking something horrible had happened overnight. Caleb wouldn't do something as underhanded as send them all out of the Book after all that protesting to stay with him and maintain the Soulfire, fight alongside him to defeat that jerk Nebilim and go home at long last.

He looked forward to seeing his parents again, to dealing with his usual rogue gallery of ghosts.

"Ah, you're awake, hm, good." Caleb remarked, looking over at the group as they began packing their things. He gave them a distracted smile before going back to digging through his bag. "Raven, could you make breakfast for everyone?"

"Uh... sure." Danny returned uncertainly. That was... weird. He floated over and collected the ingredients for sandwiches from him, catching a glimpse of various plastic containers stashed in Caleb's travel pack, each one with a label. As he headed back to the others to make breakfast, he puzzled over what he saw. _'Why does Caleb have a lot of pre-made stuff in his bag? I haven't seen those before and he likes making stuff fresh.'_

Valerie raised an eyebrow at the sight of the phantom putting together sandwiches to pass around. "When the heck did I get used to having the Ghost Boy making meals for me?" she muttered under her breath, but accepted a plate when her turn came. It didn't make much sense to her, but then nothing in the past couple of weeks had made sense.

They ate in silence, their thoughts still taken up with wondering how they were going to topple a giant suit of armor. Jazz's expression turned sharp, her eyes narrowing as she looked past her brother. Danny mistook it for her glaring at him and hunched his shoulders, eyes wide.

"Huh? Jazz, why are you giving me that look?" he asked in alarm. As far as he knew, he hadn't done anything wrong or screwed something up. Was there some homework or something that she had expected him to do? Danny's face blanched as he tried to recall any number of missed assignments and make-up work that he'd been stuck with.

"What's wrong with Caleb? He's acting strange." Sam commented in the carrot-top's place, her own gaze directed past Danny as well. Tucker and Valerie both turned their heads to see as well, and the halfa finally turned around to check on the android himself.

Caleb remained crouched in place, his bag at his side and Wonder Fork in hand, eyes closed and free hand resting over the green gem on his shirt. Danny lifted an eyebrow, watching him just sit there, absolutely still. Finally, he turned back to his friends, a little annoyed.

"He's probably just praying for some extra luck." he argued, "We're about to face off against the King of the Underworld; I'm already wishing we had some lucky charms or something." Sam rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, we already have some, remember? We pulled them off all those monsters we beat." she pointed out dryly, "Considering how well **those** worked for them, I think I'll pass on the charms."

They finished the meal and made sure they had everything packed. Jazz and Valerie swapped out the White Quartz in their respective weapons with the replacement stones they'd been given the previous night, then looked over at Danny. Sam and Tucker watched as well, interested in what the new accessory their friend wore could do. He grinned, touching fingers to the crest.

"Ready, guys? Here's what it looks like." Danny remarked and called out the activation words, "Topaz Mode!"

Like a cascade passing over him from head to toe, Danny's aura changed to a soft golden light, glowing ghost-green eyes shifting into shining amber. The changes were small, considering what the gem was meant to do, but for the group that was used to seeing only green, white or ice-blue colors when it came to Danny's powers, the addition of gold was both surprising and exciting. He laughed as his friends crowded close to examine the new coloring, Valerie choosing to stay back and look dubious about the whole thing.

"I tried it out last night while you guys were sleeping, before I went to bed too." the ghost boy explained with a grin, turning one hand over to check out the golden aura for himself, "I can still use the Ghost Ray and it's really charged up with Light. My Ecto Bomb and the Ghost Stinger are gone, though. Caleb wasn't kidding when he said that using Topaz Mode would shut off all my really strong ghost attacks."

"So no using Ghostly Wail as a trump card, huh?" Tucker asked wryly. Danny shook his head. "Well, I suppose Light-charged Ghost Rays are better than nothing." the technophile sighed, "Seriously, after all that summoning and stuff, you'd think a Summon Spirit would give you some wicked new powers to go with a recharged gem."

"Beggars can't be chooser, I suppose." Jazz commented idly, "So where's the teleporter?"

As if that was his cue to join them, Caleb rose from his crouch and turned to face the teens, holding up the wren-shaped mount in one hand. "If everyone feels that they're ready to face Nebilim, get your mementos out and hold them in your hand." he called out to them. As one, the teens all dug into pockets, purses and backpacks to haul out the items they received from their Trials, walking over to stand with the android.

"Before we go charging in, all guns blazing -although that doesn't sound like a half-bad idea-," Valerie pointed out in concern, "is there anything else you can tell us about Nebilim that can give us an edge in fighting him? We read the chapter about him and how Lloyd's group dealt with him, and I'm pretty confident in my combat skills, but even I gotta admit it. Fighting a massive suit of heavy armor might just be a _bit_ out of our league." Caleb blinked at her, then smiled gently and rested a hand on her shoulder, surprising her with the contact.

"It will be all right. You're all very strong in your own rights." he told her, turning his gaze on each teen in turn, "As long as you believe in that, and remember who you're fighting for, everything will turn out fine. Don't be swayed by anything; you must fight as a team, trust in one another, and do what must be done."

"Soooo... no other problems?" Tucker repeated Valerie's concern. The android laughed, shaking his head.

"No, no other problems. It's all covered. I've used this plan before and it worked just fine. Just fight your hardest and everything will be fine." he replied and turned to hold the mount out, showing it to the throne before them, "Okay, everyone. Present your mementos!"

One by one, the teens raised their personal mementos, grimly determined expressions on their faces.

"Jazz Fenton, The Ashamed." Jazz announced as she held up the pyrite clock hand.

"Tucker Foley, The Lustful." Tucker echoed, lifting the Phantom lens, its smooth green surface catching the light shining from Danny's aura.

"Sam Manson, The Weak." Sam stated flatly, holding up the heart-shaped chunk of black ice with the cracked center.

"Valerie Grey, The Enraged." the Red Huntress ground out between her teeth as she held up her father's broken glasses.

"Danny Phantom, The Corrupted." Danny murmured, holding up the sword and shield scales of justice that bore both his Phantom insignia and the Fenton Family emblem.

"Caleb." the android beside him remarked with a strange smile, "The Traitor."

Each memento glowed brilliantly, and the throne before them faded away, revealing a massive teleporter pad. It took up a majority of the platform's surface area, glowing a malevolent deep violet and surrounded by thick black smoke roiling and spilling over its surface. Tiny flashes of lightning lit up the murk at random. The group lowered their mementos, Danny swallowing hard at the sight of the thing before them.

"Well, you got your wish." Sam commented as she pocketed the black ice heart, "A final boss teleporter that looks like he went all out with it." He just groaned at the reminder that he had, indeed, remarked that Nebilim's teleporter should look intimidating.

"Why did we roll call ourselves and our Trials?" Tucker asked with that expression on his face that only came up when he realized the sheer stupidity of what he just did far too late to correct it. Jazz shrugged.

"It just seemed like something expected of us." she replied, dropping the clock hand back into her purse and pulling out the Fenton Peeler, "It worked, didn't it?" She began walking forward, carefully stepping over the ring of thunderclouds and taking a place on the massive teleporter, followed by the other teens. Each of them kept a wary eye on the churning smoke and the pad itself, distrustful of what they could do them. Caleb lightly stepped up with them, a faintly fearful expression on his face.

Once they were all standing on the pad, it lit up beneath them and the world was awash in blinding light.

* * *

When Danny could see again, the first thing he noticed was that they had all appeared together on another glass platform. This one had a single path stretching before them, leading to a second platform that stretched as far as he could see, disappearing into the distance; a massive battlefield, perfect for a final clash between the forces of good and evil.

The second thing Danny noticed was a huge black cloud hanging over that battlefield, like a dust cloud or a swarm of tiny bugs that just stayed suspended there. It reminded him a lot of the smoke on the teleporter pad they had just left behind. The massive black cloud swirled and churned as though twisted by turbulence. Looking at it made his stomach clench uncomfortably and he could see his friends and sister look just as loathe to get near it as he felt.

The third thing he noticed -and it was the one that gave him the most to be alarmed about- was the faint grimace that briefly overtook Caleb's neutral expression.

"What's wrong?" Danny demanded immediately, ignoring how shaky his voice sounded to his own ears. The android shook his head, not even bothering to look at him.

"Nothing. I'm fine." he returned and then repeated it more sharply, "I'm **fine**." Like he was trying to convince himself more than the rest of them. Danny felt that ominous sense of dread creep over him again. Something was going on -he was using the word 'fine' _waaay_ too often to be legit-, and once again the redhead was choosing to keep things hidden behind his little wall.

He turned to get a second opinion from Tucker, but the other boy was well ahead of him and had his PDA out, showing him the screen. One percent damage; that was normal, so Caleb was at near perfect health. Whatever caused that grimace, it wasn't physical damage.

"That's odd. We've finally made it to the final level, and yet Nebilim hasn't spoken to us at all." Jazz commented curiously, lifting the Peeler and clicking the button to activate the armor. "Is he shielding himself within that cloud? I don't see a giant suit of armor anywhere." Part of her words gained an electronic echo as the helmet clapped over her head.

"Yeah, something's not right." Sam agreed, drawing her dagger as she prepared to step forward.

They walked together, clustered in a group close enough to keep an eye on one another, but loose enough to avoid colliding into each other in case of an ambush. Crossing the bridge just seemed to add to their anxiety, and they found themselves often turning their gazes skyward to watch the smoggy black mass hanging overhead. It took a few minutes to reach the other side and the teens looked around again warily once they were well away from the bridge, far enough into the endless platform that they wouldn't have to worry about running off an edge.

Nothing greeted them. Glass stretched far and wide and not a speck of a figure marred the horizon. Valerie growled, clutching her ecto-rifle in her hands.

"I'm _really_ not liking this." she grumbled behind her protective mask, "It smells too much like a set-up."

"Caleb, where **is** he?" Danny finally demanded, fed up with being terrified of the unknown and the fact that the android seemed to be withholding information again. "This is Nebilim's level, isn't it? Then **why** isn't there a giant suit of armor to fight against?" Caleb just stood there calmly, holding the Wonder Fork at his side as he gave the halfa an impassive gaze. "Where's Nebilim?" Danny repeated, harsh and demanding.

"Right above us." the android finally murmured and the air was filled with the near-deafening sound of thunder, a sudden gust of wind rushing over them, howling as the smog spun and spiraled down to ground level. It churned and convulsed, billowing outward and sinking into itself, a living smoke cloud. The teens huddled closer to one another, gaping at the insubstantial thing roiling about before them not thirty feet away.

How were they supposed to _fight_ that thing?

Caleb moved slowly, deliberately, slinging his pack off and walking to Tucker to push the strap into his hands, the technophile staring up at him in equal parts confusion and fear. "I cooked as many healing and stat-increasing meals as I could with what we had left. They're stored in containers I wished for, labeled so you can quickly get to the ones you need for any situation." the android told him evenly, his tone bringing a little calm back to the boy, "Since you have the Lens gun, you'll be less damage-effective but easily mobile. I'm counting on you to do the healing and support, all right?" Tucker's baffled expression wasn't an answer, but Caleb didn't seem to be looking for one anyway. He turned to Sam next and pushed the Wonder Fork into her hands, ignoring her startled look and cry.

"Here. You've done quite well using the mythril dagger, so you'll probably do all right with some extra distance and leverage." Caleb told her with a small smile, "Try not to break this while you're attacking, all right?"

"What the **hell**?" Sam blurted out but by then he had already moved on.

Danny's eyes couldn't get any wider than when the redhead leaned over to hug him tightly, the gale-force winds tousling his white hair in a frenzy. "I'm so glad to be able to call you my friend, Raven." Caleb murmured, and that dread feeling returned, making the halfa's blood run colder than he'd ever thought possible. "Can I trust you?" the android whispered. He pulled away, staring up at the angel smiling at him with his hands gripping his shoulders lightly.

_'No... no, he can't be planning what I think he's planning...!'_

"Everything's been set up, Raven. All the plans I had to fight Nebilim, they were cut and whittled down with every new piece of information I gained while we traveled together here." Caleb told him soothingly, "I weighed the risks of all I had left, and this is the best I can do, for you, for your friends, for everyone."

He smiled again, lifting a hand to wipe away tears Danny didn't even realize were spilling from his eyes. "The reason why Nebilim wanted you for a vessel wasn't just because it would let him escape Niflheim; I figured that out when he pretended to be Wren in my level. Someone of his mass shouldn't have been able to easily take such a small form. But he did, and I know why." the android went on in that same damningly soothing voice, "It's because he doesn't **have** a body anymore. And you can't hope to fight something that doesn't have a body."

"So you're going to give him one." Danny realized in a tiny, horrified voice, "Just like when Lloyd and the others had to fight Sérno; that's the plan that worked before that you were talking about! You're going to give Nebilim **your** body!" A surge of fury ran through him at the thought. _"Are you **crazy**?"_ he screamed at the redhead, "It won't even work! He wants **my** ectomana; he doesn't care about your Tri-Crystal System!"

Anything else Danny planned on raging was silenced on the spot when Caleb unfolded his remaining wing, wispy green ectoplasmic light flaring out to form ghostly feathers. For a split-second, the halfa terrified himself with the thought that Caleb 2.0 had somehow survived and taken the angel's place after all.

"He will, now that he knows I duplicated your ectomana for myself." Caleb countered with a weak smile, "Desiree gave me the idea to adapt, and the Eternal Sword Pin can make _anything_ possible."

"But...!" Danny protested helplessly. _'But you can't...! You can't do this! Not to me, not to Martel, and not to Wren!'_

"Raven, can I trust you?" Caleb echoed his words from the previous night. Danny found himself nodding, teeth clenched together to hold back sobs and trapping the protests he wanted to scream aloud. The android just smiled again. "Good." he murmured and leaned forward to whisper into the boy's ear, _"Because I pass the right to you."_

"Wha-?" Danny breathed in shock and confusion, eyes widening as he felt a small shape get pressed into his palm. And then Caleb was off like a shot, leaping back from him with a determined expression on his face, the green gem on his shirt falling away to reveal the ghost-shaped Key Crest and the red Cruxis Crystal attached to his chest, the charms scratched out to remove their protections.

"What is he **doing**?" Valerie screamed in horror, moving quickly to lift her rifle and shoot beams of crimson light into the cloud.

_"Defend them from the blows of the enemy! Field Barrier!"_ Caleb called out, left hand tracing out the runes for casting the defensive spell that encased the members of Team Phantom in blue light before rapidly tracing another set, _"Enhance their weapons' might! Acuteness!"_ His mouth opened for another spell, but by then the massive swirl of cloud lashed out with smoky tendrils, wrapping around the redhead's body and yanking him into the very heart of the churning smog.

_"Caleb!"_ Danny screamed, shooting forward in hopes of rescuing the angel -_'Stupid, idiotic, death-seeking **idiot**!'_- with the Eternal Sword Pin clutched tightly in his hand. A shockwave fired out from the collapsing mass of smoke, hurling him back into the arms of his friends. "Damn it!"

"Danny! His wing!" Tucker blurted out in shock, Caleb's travel pack now slung over his own shoulder, "Was that ectoplasm?"

"It's ectomana! **My** ectomana!" the halfa shot back in a fury, struggling to get to his feet as he shoved the Pin into his pocket, "He converted himself over so Nebilim would take him as bait! That idiot!"

"Well, we have to swap him back to mana crystals, _fast_!" the technophile told him, face paling at the turn of events, "**You** can live off a balance of ectoplasm and mana, but Caleb **can't**! It won't be able to hold his soul in place for long; he'll die without a pure mana fuel source! That's how Caleb 2.0 was created, remember?"

Malevolent laughter filled the air as the smog coalesced down to a large pulsing sphere of solid black, rippling with scarlet color that looked as though the thing was holding in a mass of magma. Somewhere in the center of that thing was Caleb, and the teens stood together, staring in horrified wonder as the sphere collapsed further and further down, wrapping around the familiar figure held suspended in the air. A gust of wind blew out from within, carrying the tattered green ribbon that Caleb valued so much. Danny reached out to catch it, staring at the bit of fabric in his hand before tucking it into his pocket with the Pin, glaring at the mass of smoke and light.

As the cloud faded, sucked into the android's body, he descended lightly to touch feet to the glass platform, dark chuckles still falling from his upturned mouth. It was a bit like seeing the shift to Avenger Mode; the green and white servant's clothes disappearing, leaving his chest bare save for ominous black coloring that stretched across his shoulders, neck and down nearly to his stomach, the Cruxis Crystal shining brightly just below the hollow of his throat.

His sleeves had been moved to just below his elbows, the metal spiked and etched with runic characters pulsing with red light, the fabric flaring outward and billowing, black and red swirled together and patterned with glowing green lines. Black pants tucked into high black boots, form-fitted and high-heeled for some strange reason, tattered strips of fabric mocking the android's tailcoat flying freely behind him.

Red hair flared out, wild and loose and moving as though alive, strands floating around and lit up like flames. The one wing Caleb had working was still unfolded, green ectomana feathers streaked with crimson light. His eyes were closed, but his mouth was still turned up in that wickedly pleased smile, chuckling.

_"Ah, after careful consideration, I've decided."_ Nebilim's voice purred, jolting the teens with how it flowed from Caleb's mouth so easily. He finally opened his eyes, the green replaced with glittering vivid red, bright as blood, and the smile made his face look wickedly gleeful. _"The Fallen Angel's body is a much better fit. Thank you very much for driving him into offering it to me."_

"Whatever! Give him back!" Danny snapped at the Underworld King, "If you can't fight us with your own body, then step outta the way and break out the s'mores! We're burning this Book!" Nebilim just laughed, one hand raised to his mouth as he posed almost flirtatiously before the group.

_"Ha ha ha ha! So this is modern-day humor? How amusing!"_ he exclaimed, _"I am the King of the Land of the Dead; I deserve beautiful things, or did you not know that I've possessed many other handsome men and beautiful women over the vast eons?"_

"But, what about that suit of armor? You had that form when you fought Lloyd!" Sam pointed out in alarm, "Why didn't you use that instead?"

_"I've taken many forms in countless ages; that one was, in your language, 'slapped together on the fly'." _Nebilim purred, tossing a strand of hair over one shoulder. _"It takes power to take any form that is not my true self, that freeform I was in when you intruded on my level. So much easier to just... possess one, like I did with Abyssion and Gelda. I would have liked taking Presea, but she was given hope and I was thwarted."_ He smirked, eyes lidded and head tilting as he cooed, _"Mmm... too bad; she was **cute**."_

"And what? You ran out of power? Couldn't make a new body to take over the world so you decided you'd run off with mine?" Danny retorted hotly, "And when Caleb decided he didn't like that, you jacked his!"

_"I did nothing of the sort. He gave himself to me in place of you."_ Nebilim returned, folding one arm across his chest and resting the other on it, free hand cupping his cheek. _"The Fallen Angel realized that I had lost the power to create a separate body, so there was no way you could even **try** to oppose me. Not unless I took over a body full of darkness and hopelessness."_

"Hopeless? You mean... that's why he abandoned the Wonder Chef?" Jazz cried out in shock, "So he would lose all hope and have no reason to live on? That would be his motivation to justify sacrificing himself to you to give us a physical enemy to fight!"

_"That's right. A traitor once again."_ the Demon King remarked with a smile, eyes glowing brightly, _"Look at you all, with your little hearts broken and miserable appearances. You're just all so **adorable**." _He winked coquettishly at the team, one finger resting delicately on his lip as he smirked at their collective glares. _"You of the land of the living and dead, you have a rather delectable figure that I very much would have liked to have had for myself, but now I've got a beautiful angel's body, so what use are you to me now?"_ A ring of fire spun around his feet, tracing out strange pictographs while the possessed android laughed maliciously. _"Well, now you know the truth. Now I'll do you all the honor of dying by my hand here in this miserable excuse of a hell before I step out and claim my new kingdom!"_

"That's spellcasting! Break!" Valerie yelled, darting away from the group as the teens bolted to avoid the incoming attack. She lifted her rifle, firing rapidly on the Demon King as he threw an arm up, firing a series of giant fireballs that raced over the battlefield at random in an attempt to hit them. Jazz circled around the other way, firing bursts of light from her own arm-cannon as she ran.

"Stay on the move! He can't hit us with Caleb's spells if we keep moving!" she called out and cried out in alarm as Nebilim leaped out of the line of fire, lone wing flaring wildly to steer him to land elsewhere, dodging the numerous blasts of red and yellow that sprayed in a crossfire in attempts to hit him. Danny took to the air, firing a double blast of the Ghost Ray that seared along the ground after the android.

"Try not to damage him too much! We just need to beat Nebilim out of him and we can get Caleb back!" he shouted, biting his lip as the beams caught up and engulfed the redhead dashing along after Sam. Nebilim shrieked in outrage and pain, writhing in the light and dropping to one knee, panting hard.

"He's staggered! Lay in on him!" the Goth yelled, turning on her heel to run back and lift the Wonder Fork to one side. Jazz and Valerie both turned and raced for the Demon King, firing on the run to pile on the damage despite Danny yelling for them to hold back even a little. Sam swung the utensil around as if it were a bat, slamming it into the side of Nebilim's head. "Yeah! Got him! How's that?" she declared with a fierce grin.

_"Not good enough!"_ Nebilim snarled, lashing back with one arm and sending her flying backwards. He got to his feet, throwing his arms out as the circle of fiery runes flared to life at his feet. _"Ground Dasher!"_

"Ack! You're supposed to say the spell first, you jerk!" Valerie cried, flailing her arms around as she tried to stay upright, the energy rushing up from the magical attack hitting her legs and making them sting through the heavy fabric. Jazz windmilled her own limbs, wailing in surprise as she fell back. Danny dropped down and threw out his hands, projecting the Ghost Shield to protect them, and found himself surprised to see white-green walls of ectomana placed before the two girls instead of the domes of green he was used to. Was this a side effect of the Topaz Mode? It didn't completely block off the attack, nullifying it like his shields often did, but it grew thinner as it was hit by the lingering bits of the _Ground Dasher_.

"Tucker! What's his damage?" he called out to the technophile currently racing away from the madness as he squeezed off a few potshots of the Lens gun.

"I don't know! When Nebilim took him over, all of Caleb's connections to my PDA shut off." Tucker replied breathlessly, digging out the device and showing him the error message that kept flashing over and over on the screen, "There's no getting through to him now!" Danny sighed harshly, scanning the field to spot Sam getting back to her feet, shaking her head before running back in to try another beatdown.

"Guess this means his Sleep Mode phrase won't work on him either." he grumbled and turned back to his friend. "How does Caleb expect us to beat Nebilim like **this**?" he asked helplessly.

.

Valerie clacked her heels to summon the hoverboard, shooting out of the way of an incoming barrage of swords from Nebilim's casting of _Bloody Lance_. She breathed hard, blinking away wetness from her eyes as she opened fire again, circling around in the air to stay away from the spells. Why hadn't any of them seen this coming? Where were the signs telling them that Caleb would decide to fling himself at Nebilim? And for what? To keep the King from taking over the Spook?

It didn't make any sense, and what made even less sense was how Nebilim didn't seem to be using the Eternal Sword Pin's power to wipe them all out. Did it recognize that the thing moving Caleb's body around wasn't him and so didn't listen to him? Nebilim dodged her shots after a moment, flipping backwards before spinning in place and throwing his hand up.

_"Gravity Well!"_ The spell manifested right in front of her and she screamed in shock and alarm as the spell sucked her in and knocked her around. Flung to the glass floor in the aftermath, Valerie grunted in pain but held on to her rifle, determined to lay in some shots to pay the freak back for the attack. And she would, as soon as she could get back up because that _really_ frickin' hurt.

"Stay **away** from my friends!" Danny yelled, diving down to kick Nebilim back from the downed huntress. Angle, speed, gravity, he used them to impact the Demon King with greater force than normal. It didn't cause a stagger, like he had hoped; Nebilim flew back from the kick but landed on his feet, wing flaring and flapping to control his fall. By luck or chance or bad planning on Nebilim's part, he touched down right in the path of Jazz's next barrage of blaster fire.

Well, that stunned him a bit at least, the Demon King yelling out in anger and pain as the blasts hit him head-on. Danny added another steady stream of ectoplasm as well, hoping that Nebilim would go down before Caleb's body became too badly damaged to keep the guy alive.

"Coming, coming! I've got stew!" Tucker called out as he ran to Valerie's side, digging out one of the labeled containers and a clean spoon. He handed both off to her before looking over at the battle not far from them. Nebilim managed to escape the onslaught, skating across the glass in a way that should not be possible with those freaky high heels and leaping into a rather impressive jump kick that knocked Danny right out of the air. "This isn't going well. Even without the Wonder Fork, Caleb's body is giving Nebilim too much power." he muttered.

"Hmph. Should be stronger." Valerie grumbled between bites of miso stew hurriedly shoveled into her mouth, "'S not usin' the Pin." She nodded her head in Nebilim's direction and Tucker turned to follow, watching the battle that kept the Demon King distracted, "I'm thinking it knows 's not Caleb 'n' won't let him..."

Tucker blinked and interrupted with a simple statement, "He's topless." Valerie swallowed her last mouthful and recapped the rest of the stew, one eyebrow lifted in confusion before she took another look for herself. "Nebilim's topless, how could we have missed that? It's like one of the major things he took from Caleb; his shirt and coat!" the technophile declared, slapping himself on the forehead, "If the Pin was on the coat, then he wouldn't have bothered to do that! He would have kept the coat so he could keep the Pin!"

"You're saying Nebilim isn't using the Pin because Caleb wasn't _wearing_ it when he got taken over?" Valerie demanded and the boy nodded, "Well, then where the hell **is** it? We can't leave the Book without it!"

.

Sam found herself pushing her limits athletically as she jumped for the redhead, swinging the Wonder Fork around to slam against the back of his head. Nebilim reacted by spinning on one foot, the other lifting to try kicking her in the face. She supposed it was luck that she tended to crouch after leap attacks; the heeled leg completely missed her and she swung the utensil upward, bracing her hand against the wooden handle as she bodily crashed into him. She could hear Danny yell in alarm as she and Nebilim both fell to the floor.

_'Move, move, move!'_ Sam thought frantically, scrambling to get up first as the protective blue light of the _Field Barrier_ began to flicker and fade from around her body. The utensil had fallen just out of her reach and she tried to slide over and get to it quickly.

_"Wretch!"_ Nebilim hissed as he pushed himself up and grabbed the Wonder Fork ahead of her, spinning it in his grip and aiming the tines at her body, _"Let me see your pretty mouth scream and choke on your own blood!"_ With a cry, Sam pushed herself aside, rolling away from the multiple attempts to stab her. _"Ha ha ha ha! I'm coming for you! I'm coming to get you, you little AUGH!"_ Nebilim suddenly shrieked in pain, dropping the Wonder Fork and clutching at his head, staggering back a few steps.

"Sam! Run!" Caleb's voice cried, startling the group. The Goth didn't need to be told twice; she snatched up the utensil and bolted, running for Tucker who waved wildly at her to join him.

_"Fallen Angel, how dare you? You're supposed to submit to me! Silence!"_ Nebilim raged, yanking his hands back down and setting a huge plume of fire to erupt around him, driving back anyone foolish enough to try attacking him at that moment.

"Did you hear that?" Sam demanded of Tucker and Danny as she reached them. The technophile dug into the travel pack and pulled out a pair of plastic containers, reading the labels before holding one out to her and putting the other away. Danny nodded, eyes wide and hopeful even as his fists glowed with a charged Ghost Ray.

"He's still in there, somewhere. If he's got enough willpower to mess with Nebilim's attacks, then we've got a good chance of beating Nebilim out and keeping Caleb in one piece!" he agreed and flew off to press the attack, "Get rebuffed with one of Caleb's snacks! Jazz, Valerie! Fire on Nebilim with everything you've got!"

That was easier said than done. The Demon King threw up a hand, unleashing _Meteor Storm_ on the field in an attempt to overkill them. He seemed unfazed at first by the crossfire of Light-infused blasts coming from the girls. It wasn't until Danny added in his own Ghost Rays that the possessed android began staggering under the onslaught, arms raising in an attempt to shield himself.

_"Enough!"_ the Demon King suddenly yelled, leaping up and hovering in the air regardless of having only one working wing. Flames raced about in a pattern below him, tracing out runes for a spell. _"Pathetic worms, **die**! Indignation!"_

The dome of lightning began forming over the field, electricity spiraling up as Jazz and Valerie bolted to escape. Danny clenched his teeth, raising a bubble of ectomana as a shield around himself and choosing to tough out the attack. As the vicious clap of thunder and shower of lightning impacted the glass, shrinking his protective shield rapidly, sparks jumped and stung his exposed face and ears. Painful, but only just barely. It was nowhere near enough to damage him. Danny was just glad that his sister and ex-girlfriend had escaped in the nick of time.

This guy was _seriously_ getting on his nerves! If only he could use his stronger ghost powers, but the Topaz had completely taken over. There **had** to be something he could do; some way of getting extra, stronger powers to take the place of the ones he'd lost to get unlimited Light Element. His mind raced, trying to think of something as he fired blast after blast of the Ghost Ray to knock Nebilim out of the air.

_'Man, even just being able to use something like _Ray_ would be handy!'_ he thought to himself, growling under his breath when the redhead took to dodging his attacks, choosing to assault Jazz with a flurry of kicks that probably were all rips of Regal's attacks. _'There's got to be something I can use to beat Nebilim and get Caleb back! The Ghost Ray's just not gonna cut it anymore; I need something stronger, something with more Light, something like...!'_

And that sleeping soul tucked under his heart seemed to stir, responding to those thoughts. A bolt of inspiration struck, stiffening Danny's spine as he yelped, eyes wide at the flash of idea that painted out actions, words, shapes in his brain. Quickly, before he could second-guess himself and screw it up, the half-ghost lifted his hand and splayed his fingers out, palm facing the possessed android still trying to beat his sister into mush. A sphere of swirling ectomana formed before his hand, green streaked with white.

_"Phantom Ray!"_ Danny yelled and fired the ball of ectomana, watching in surprise as it split into several smaller beams of intense light, all crashing into Nebilim's back like a storm of miniature comets. The Demon King screamed in pain, dropping to one knee again and letting Jazz escape further harm. Valerie took up the lull in battle, opening fire with her rifle. Breathing hard, Danny just turned his hand around and stared at his palm in shock.

Had **that** really come from **him**? It definitely acted like _Ray_ but it wasn't exactly like it. Phantom Ray... was that something the Topaz gave him? And he just didn't know it until Wren slapped it into his head? How had he even been able to do that?

And if he could use this ghost version of _Ray_, was it possible the other Light spells had ghost versions too?


	49. Chapter 49

49

Sam tossed the spoon back into Caleb's travel pack, eyeing the renewed aura of protection that glowed softly over her body. Who knew vegan tempura could boost all stats, like that label claimed? She was going to want the recipe after all this was over.

If Caleb was still alive by then.

She shook her head and looked up when Tucker let out a cry of awe, pointing at the air. The two of them watched in wonder as Danny yelled and fired a single sphere of Light-enfused ectoplasm that suddenly became a mini-meteor shower of light that slammed into Nebilim with a vengeance.

"What was **that**?" the Goth blurted out, "I've never seen him do that before!" Tucker frowned thoughtfully, rubbing his chin before snapping his fingers.

"The Topaz. I bet that's something Danny gets in Topaz Mode to make up for losing his other ghost powers." he told her, "You heard him say 'Phantom Ray', right? Maybe it's bending rules and letting him cast magic too?" Sam looked a little dubious, watching Valerie and Danny both lay into Nebilim with more blasts, red light from the huntress and more of those Phantom Ray bursts from Danny.

"I guess, I mean, it's as good an explanation as any right now." she muttered and sighed, "Not like we can ask Caleb anymore. What are we going to do?"

.

Phantom Ray was doing a pretty good job of getting Nebilim to stagger. Danny was starting to like the new power, but he still worried that all the hits were damaging Caleb more than hurting the Demon King. It felt like hours had passed since the android had been possessed, and the hope he'd had when Caleb's voice cried out to give Sam a chance to escape was quickly waning.

A tiny space of time where neither Valerie's attacks nor his own were hitting gave Nebilim a chance to escape, flipping hands over heels back from them to gain distance. The redhead stood in place, wilting tiredly as he panted, glaring furiously as Danny shot down to float by the huntress and watch him warily. Nebilim bared his teeth, hissing as he clutched at one shoulder.

_"I don't know how you're doing that, Boy, but it's going to end **now**!"_ he snarled, and Danny couldn't help but flinch at the words because that was Caleb's face glaring at him with such malice. The Demon King stamped a foot down, the heel of his boot clacking loudly against the glass platform. He swept his arms out, flames tracing out another circle of pictographs, large and intricately designed.

"Looks like he's gearing up for another of his demon powers." Valerie grumbled, hefting up her rifle, "Listen, Spook; Caleb gave himself up so we could take out Nebilim. We're wasting time and Soulfire just taking potshots at him."

"What are you saying?" Danny growled softly, part of his attention on sifting through the mental imagery of another of the Topaz's new abilities, searching for another power that could be used to try kicking Nebilim out of his body.

"Next time you use that weird _Ray_ thing," she returned and aimed her weapon, "hit the Tri-Crystal System. If Caleb's body can't move, neither can Nebilim."

He stiffened, partly in anger and partly in disbelief that she would so easily decide it was best to just kill their guide, his friend, just so they could beat the Demon King. No, that's not how he was going to end this. He was going to save Caleb and give him back his Pin and then he was going to _beat the living, hellish **stupid**_ out of him for doing this in the first place. Good Lord, how did Wren put up with his dumb ideas back in Symphonian time?

A fuzzy and vague feeling of having smacked himself in the forehead too often rose and Danny took it to be the sleeping soul's answer. Yeah, that seemed about right; and he followed that example by smacking himself once.

"_Grr!_ No! We're not shooting out his systems!" he snapped at Valerie, "Look, we're weakening him a whole lot already; he could barely stand just now!" He threw a hand up to cover himself and the huntress in a shield, flinching at the hellish whirlwind of flames that engulfed them while they'd been standing there. "I know it looks bad now, but we've got to keep whittling him down carefully. Eventually, all the Light we've been hitting him with will kick him out of Caleb's body and then we can burn the Book and get out of here."

"How are we gonna get out? If you haven't noticed, Nebilim's not wearing a shirt or coat!" Valerie bit back, throwing an arm out to gesture at the Demon King, "Caleb didn't have the Pin when he got sucked in by that thing!"

"Yeah, I know." Danny sighed harshly, "He gave it to me." The shield grew dangerously thin and he counted himself lucky that the fiery cyclone faded first. He ignored the look of abject horror he was sure would be on the huntress' face and rolled his eyes. "Look, we both saw what happened when a certain someone else got ahold of it; I'm not doing that, not in a million years. Not after Caleb put his trust in me to just hang on to it for him." Danny griped, "And that's **all** I'm doing, holding on to it. I'm giving it back as soon as we kick Mr. I'm-So-Pretty out of Caleb, so can we just focus on hitting him with all the Light we've got?"

Valerie just growled under her breath, lifting her rifle to fire off several more shots while Danny hit upon another of the Topaz's abilities, flitting away from the huntress to get enough room to use it.

"Okay, let's try this on for size! Phantom Lance!" Danny declared, sweeping his hand upwards and letting the Light-enfused ectomana form several glowing green-white swords, one within reach for him to grip. He grabbed it, shooting down towards Nebilim and slashing across the demon king's back. Nebilim shrieked in pain, spinning in place to kick the halfa back.

_"You of the land of the living and dead! Why do you bother fighting when you could have just joined me instead?"_ the redhead growled, hopping back from the teens running up to attack him again. _"What reward could you expect from a world that despises you as you fight for them?"_

"Because I'm not doing it for a reward!" Danny yelled, flying back to the rest of the swords and hurling them down at the demon king in a frenzy, "I'm doing it because I chose to be a Hero in order to protect my friends and family!" Several of the swords missed but the few that nailed Nebilim sent him stumbling across the battlefield. "Sam, Jazz! He's staggering! Valerie, keep him pinned! Tucker, we're all good so fire the Lens gun at him too!"

"Give him everything we've got!" Sam yelled as she charged the demon king, Wonder Fork in her hands like a baseball bat, "Keep the Tri-Crystal System in one piece, but beat the metal out of everything else!" Jazz ran alongside her, armored hands clenched into fists.

"Yeah! If we deal enough damage to him, Nebilim won't want Caleb's body anymore and we win!" she agreed and leaped into the air, one fist pulled back for a punch. She landed full-force, bringing herself and the demon king to the platform heavily. "Got him! I got him!" Jazz exclaimed with a laugh that quickly became a terrified scream at the explosion of fire that erupted up from him and engulfed her. She scrambled back and away, patting herself out as the redhead took to the air again, snarling as he dodged Sam's swipe with the Wonder Fork.

_"That did nothing!"_ he snapped, lifting his arms to shield himself from Valerie's rapid-fire rifle shots, hovering almost drunkenly before whirling free of the attack. He zeroed in on the huntress, dropping down nearly on top of her with a forceful kick that she dodged by hurling herself away. Valerie tumbled head over heels, her ecto-rifle still tight in her grip, and managed to reorient herself so she could keep it trained on the demon king, squeezing off a few more shots.

They had no effect on Nebilim, who now was dashing over the platform towards Tucker to take him out of battle. "White Quartz down!" Valerie yelled out, opening her rifle and digging out the spare from her pocket, "I'm putting in my last one!"

"Stay away from Tucker!" Sam yelled, running in from another direction and thrusting the giant fork into Nebilim's path. It tore across his left arm, ripping synthetic flesh from the unprotected part of the limb and exposing metal and artificial muscle.

Danny gasped at the sight. The engraved lines and charms in Caleb's body normally glowed a soft blue as mana ran across them. But now they glowed green, streaks of red flowing through with increasing frequency. He winced; that must be ectomana and whatever demons used for life energy running through the runes. Caleb wouldn't last much longer without pure mana. This battle had to end, fast!

Nebilim snarled furiously at the startled Goth, lashing out with his leg to kick her away from himself and sending her tumbling across the platform in pain. Tucker raced to her side, already pulling out the plastic container with a vegan meal to heal her. Jazz and Danny both dove in to provide cover, peppering the field with blasts of Light and ectomana.

"This isn't good! We're taking too long and we don't know how much Soulfire got lost fighting him!" Jazz cried out to her brother in growing panic, "Nebilim's just too strong in Caleb's body! All that power from the Tri-Crystal System is just going to outlast our supply of White Quartz!" Valerie pulled up beside them, firing her own shots as she picked up on the older girl's words.

"I've already had to replace mine. Won't be long before yours breaks too." she grumbled, "How are we supposed to stop a demon-possessed android?" Danny shook his head, firing off another Phantom Ray to hold Nebilim at bay until Tucker could get Sam back on her feet.

"You think I haven't been trying to figure that out?" he demanded in frustration, "Jazz, have you tried using the Peeler function on him?"

"Yes! And it hasn't worked!" Jazz shouted in a harassed tone, "He's copying your ectomana, which is now immune to the Peeler, remember?"

Another blast from Valerie's rifle must have hit something vital, as Nebilim suddenly stopped darting around and just stood there, holding his head and wobbling on his feet. "He's staggered! Nail him again!" the huntress exclaimed, grabbing a few of her throwing discs and sending them zipping through the air towards him. Jazz ran for the redhead as well, leaving Danny to float there and let his mind race through possible ways of stopping Nebilim without harming Caleb.

"Sam's okay!" Tucker called out, circling around to get out of the line of fire again, raising his Lens gun and squeezing off a few shots of his own. The discs sliced across unprotected synthetic flesh, exposing still more of the android's metal body. Bursts from the Lens gun that managed to get through those opened 'wounds' seared the engraved charms and artificial muscles, sparks flying as they were burnt through and torn.

"Hey! Take it easy! We don't want Caleb completely wrecked!" Danny cried out in alarm, cringing at Jazz's flying kick that landed solidly against the possessed android's chest, sending him backwards several feet and crashing against the floor with a few audible cracks.

"Well, **we** don't want to be wrecked, either!" Sam declared, running up to join him and gripping the Wonder Fork close to her body. She had on a concerned expression however, and tightened her grip a little more. "What are we **supposed** to do, Danny? It doesn't look like we can bring Nebilim down without destroying Caleb in the process!"

_"No... you're **not** beating me... Not when I'm so close to freedom!"_ Nebilim growled as he rose from the floor unsteadily, pieces of debris falling from him as he moved. He flared his wing and leaped into the air, a circle of demonic pictographs tracing themselves out in flames below him. The sky darkened and Tucker looked around himself fearfully as he adjusted his aim and shot off a few more bursts of the Lens gun. The rest of the group hesitated in any further attacks at the sight, looking around for some clue as to what kind of spell was coming.

The circle of runes spun beneath the hovering demon king, three smaller circles blooming into view around it. Alarmed, Jazz turned and ran to join Sam and Danny, Valerie and Tucker both darting over as well, all in anticipation of Danny putting up a shield to cover them.

_"I'll admit, you caused quite a bit of damage to my beautiful body, but no matter." _Nebilim laughed maliciously, lifting a hand to point at them. _"It means nothing! Nothing at all! You little fools! Did you really think you stood a chance against me? The ruler of Niflheim? The King of Demons?"_ he purred, smile wide and sharp as he tilted his head in amusement, _"You are but playthings to me, now that I possess this deviously angelic body. Even you, my once coveted vessel. I humored you with this battle, but now playtime's over."_ Nebilim's expression took on the appearance of a cat gleefully playing with a cornered mouse and about to finish it off. _"Time to die, little children!"_

Danny lifted his hands hurriedly, already preparing to summon the Ghost Shield to protect them all and buy time to think of another angle of attack. "No!" Caleb's voice yelled again, halting the halfa's movements abruptly as he snapped his head down to look towards the floating demon.

Nebilim seemed to be twisting and writhing in place, jerking about like a puppet on strings being fought over by two bratty toddlers. His eyes were screwed shut, teeth clenched together tightly, but it looked like the redhead was struggling to get his limbs under his control, the massive circles of runes flickering out beneath him.

_"Y-you were sup-posed t-to have n-no hope left! How are y-you **fighting** me?"_ he growled, trying to pull his arms away from his sides where they'd been forcefully pinned.

"Can't... hold him!" Caleb gasped out after wresting away control of his mouth again, "Last shot...! Take it! Hurry!"

Sam blinked and whipped her head around to stare at the halfa floating above them. "Danny! That Phantom Lance you did!" she cried, "Use it again! Aim for his crystals! He's leaving Nebilim open for it!" Danny gaped at her in shock, shaking his head in disbelief. The Goth pointed emphatically at the writhing demon king. "He has the Tri-Crystal System!" she yelled louder, "But he was built to use only **one** for his life! The others are for extra power!" Jazz and Tucker both cried out in realization.

"That's right! The other crystals are for casting spells and as backup!" the carrot-top exclaimed with renewed hope, "Danny! Destroy the other two crystals and Nebilim won't be able to do **anything** in Caleb's body!"

He hesitated; there was no nice way of saying it in his own mind. Danny hesitated to use that attack, eyes wide and body trembling as he watched his newest friend burn through what little mana he had left to make himself vulnerable to a final blow. How could he be asked to do that? For all anyone knew, the fact that the three crystals were intact was what was giving Caleb just enough mana to cling to his own body. If two were destroyed, would that last one be enough to keep his soul anchored?

"Phantom Lance." Danny murmured, sweeping a hand before himself as the Light-infused ectomana shaped itself into a gleaming white-green sword. He grabbed the hilt and swallowed hard, recalling where Kratos had rested the tip of his sword on Caleb's chest so long ago, the angle that would drive it right into the Tri-Crystal System. He was still trembling, fear and doubt creeping into his limbs and making him feel sluggish, heavy, clumsy. It would be so very easy to make a mistake, to pierce all three gems and end all hope of reuniting Caleb and Wren, end all hope of the Heroes of the world being protected.

End the life of a friend he was just getting to know...

Soothing warmth pulsed out from just under his heart, radiating into his arms and legs, relaxing them, calming them, and coaxing Danny into taking a deep, steadying breath, closing his eyes. The Eternal Sword Pin and the tattered green ribbon burned reminders of Caleb's trust into his hip from where they rested in his pocket. The Wonder Chef had faith in him; Caleb had faith in him; his friends had faith in him. He couldn't blow it by letting fear and doubt corrupt his movements now.

Nebilim threw his head back and howled in outrage, straining to free his arms from confinement, a furious blaze erupting around his body to match his rage. The blast of hot wind pushed the teens back, forcing them to lift their arms protectively as they watched the growing inferno that swallowed up the demon king and made it all the harder to see where exactly he hovered in the air.

Danny didn't bother to open his eyes, just took another deep breath, aimed the Phantom Lance... and shot forward, imitating a perfect Sonic Thrust despite having never seen the skill used before.

There was the sound of shattering crystal a split second after Danny Phantom was engulfed in the wildfire surrounding Nebilim, a sound that seemed far louder than the scream of unholy rage coming out of the center of that firestorm.

After that was the familiar snap in the air that signaled the defeat of a monster, the inferno exploding outward like a star gone nova and lighting up the battlefield.

* * *

It took only a few moments for everyone's vision to clear, and the first thing the teens saw was the sight of Danny Phantom gripping the Phantom Lance at a strange angle, the blade driven straight through Caleb's chest from the left and extending out from just behind his right shoulder. The android was once again in his normal servant outfit, head hanging down, limbs hanging limply, wing extended but inactive.

He looked very much dead.

Finally, the two of them dropped out of the air, crashing to the glass platform. Danny let go of the sword and it blinked out of existence, the halfa lying in a stunned daze as he stared up at the cloudy red sky, gasping for air. Was it over? Was it all _finally_ over?

"Danny!" Sam blurted out, racing ahead of the other teens to his side, "Are you okay? Why are you holding your nose? Deep breaths; don't gulp down air like that!"

"You did it! I mean, we all fought Nebilim with everything we had, but you dealt the last blow!" Jazz exclaimed excitedly, pulling her little brother up by the hands. Her eyes sparkled with joy. "We beat him, Danny! We can go home now!"

The halfa's mouth moved, forming silent words that neither of the girls quite caught. Valerie hefted her rifle onto her shoulder, hand rising to her forehead as she scanned the platform, expression hidden by her mask. Tucker knelt by Caleb's prone body, PDA out in his hand as he pushed on the android's shoulder, rolling him onto his back.

"Damages are up to about fifty-eight percent. Shouldn't be that bad, but since most of that is physical damage to the Tri-Crystal System..." the techno-geek reported, trailing off as he began prodding around the gaping wound now mostly covered over by Caleb's clothing. He frowned tightly, turning his attention to the glowing green shards of crystal scattered around the android.

"Danny, speak up. I can't hear you. What are you saying?" Sam questioned in concern, noticing the half-ghost repeating words in a soft voice. He moved his hand from pressing against his sinuses to his throat, coughing as ghostly healing focused on the blistering caused by inhaling flames.

"Is... Caleb... alive?" Danny managed to rasp out. Jazz turned to dig out a container of food from the travel pack slung around Tucker's shoulders as Sam blinked in confusion, then uttered a small cry of realization.

"Ah, that's right, you destroyed at least one of the crystals, but we don't know for sure how many you got with Phantom Lance!" she exclaimed. Danny shook his head and she looked confused again. "But..." Sam began.

"I remember... how Kratos pointed..." Danny wheezed, poking himself with a fingertip, just below the center of his chest and tracing up to his sternum, "So I... pointed this way..." And he poked at his left side before tracing to his sternum again, bypassing the center of his chest entirely. "Get it?" He accepted the container of miso stew from Jazz as Sam squinted as his body, piecing together the clues. Her eyes went wide again.

"Ohh~! I get it! Kratos had been aiming to kill, and Caleb was built to be as human-like as possible." the Goth exclaimed, "That means the main crystal that supports his life would be placed where a human heart would be; in the center of the chest! So you just drove the blade into the two crystals that were set off center from his main one!" She paused, frowning thoughtfully as Danny ate slowly. "But... how did you know which side to hit to get both extra crystals? You attacked from his left side; what if the crystals were oriented to his right?"

Danny just smiled, setting the spoon back down in the container. "Haven't you noticed?" he asked with a faint chuckle, "When Caleb casts spells, he uses his left hand to draw out the runes. That's not just because he's holding something in his right hand; I figured it was easier to send mana to his left hand for using magic because the crystal for that is set on the left. And since we all saw the Tri-Crystal System is shaped like a crooked triangle, the backup crystal had to be right across and up from it. Caleb said the biggest of the three crystals was dedicated to keeping him alive, remember? The image he showed us back in Tucker's level; the biggest was at the bottom of the triangle, right where Kratos had put his sword back in my level."

"Why can't you apply that kind of critical thinking to your schoolwork?" Jazz complained, taking the container from him and stuffing it back into the travel bag.

"Well, to answer that first question, yeah." Tucker suddenly interrupted, looking over his friends with a grim expression, "Caleb's still alive, but just barely." He held up the shards of glowing green crystal. "The main crystal is still intact, but if I'm right on what he did, he won't be alive too much longer." he pointed out, "He turned his mana crystals into ectomana crystals; good for Nebilim bait, but suckish for anchoring a soul to a machine."

"Can't we swap crystals then?" Danny demanded, crawling over to brush Caleb's fringe out of his face for a better look at the android. A faintly pained grimace greeted him, dark eyes staring emptily at the sky like the halfa had done just moments earlier. "Why aren't his eyes the right color?"

"All power's being diverted to try keeping his soul in place. His senses are shut off to conserve power." Tucker told him and shook his head, "There's barely enough to keep him alive for maybe ten-fifteen minutes. We can't swap crystals because it's the only one active in his body. If we take it out, there won't be enough residual mana to anchor his soul."

"So... he's dying right now because the main crystal doesn't have enough mana to power all these charms in him?" Jazz questioned in horror, "And if we try to swap out for a pure mana crystal, he'll instantly die?" Tucker nodded. "How horrible... What are we going to do? Can't we just put a crystal in one of the other settings? They're not that badly..."

"You saw the way the sword ran through him." Tucker growled softly, free hand rubbing at his forehead distractedly, "It would have torn right through those settings." Sam turned her attention towards Danny, the halfa's hand going to the pocket where he kept the Pin stashed. That familiar determined glower on his face told her everything he was thinking.

"Do you even **know** how to use the Eternal Sword Pin?" she asked softly.

"Caleb said he just made wishes on it and it would grant them. He just had to be careful to be specific." Danny replied quietly and slipped his fingers into his pocket, "If I tell it to restore the damaged settings..."

"Hey, people, we beat the crap out of Nebilim and won, right?" Valerie suddenly declared, her voice carrying over the group and pulling all attention to her. She lowered her hand and looked over her shoulder at them, wary confusion surrounding her stance.

"Caleb's back to normal; **dying**, thanks for your concern, but back to normal. Sooo... yes?" Jazz returned just as warily, "Why ask?"

"Because I don't see an altar for burning the Book with Soulfire." Valerie returned darkly, "Or a teleporter to another level."

For a few brief seconds, everyone froze in place, letting those words sink in and trigger a chain reaction of understanding in the other teens. No altar and no teleporter. According to the _Symphonian Cultures_ textbook, the altar appeared on the final level after defeating Nebilim. If it didn't appear, then it meant Nebilim hadn't been defeated.

Nebilim hadn't been defeated.

Nebilim was still **alive**.

A scream of agony suddenly ripped out of Caleb's mouth, the android arching in place as the same cloud of malevolent black smoke that had sucked him in at the beginning now flooded out of his body. It soared over the scattering teens, twisting through the air before finally settling down a few yards away, convulsing in place, expanding and shaping itself into something else.

Caleb collapsed once the last of Nebilim's shapeless form escaped him, a soft whimper sounding from him before that, too, was cut off to conserve mana for his life functions. Danny growled as he took to the air as well, hands clenching into fists.

"Tucker, Sam! Stay with Caleb!" he barked out, "Valerie, Jazz, stay with me!" He glared at the murky cloud now solidifying into a pure black shadow, a shadow shaped like a winged serpent rivaling Princess Dorothea's dragon-self in size. "It looks like some jerk hasn't gotten the idea to stay freaking **beat** the first time!"

The serpent moved its head as though laughing silently, hovering in place as its wings flapped slowly. _"Ready for the **real** battle now, children?"_ Nebilim purred, _"I promise you, by the end of this, you'll **regret** not letting me kill you while possessing that beautiful angel body!"_ And the serpent shot forward, straight at the three teens facing off against it.


End file.
